It’s not often one has as exciting an experience as getting to go to MCC’s benefit Miscast. I had the privilege of interviewing all of the cast members, and each shared an insight into their work. After the red carpet, we were ushered into the gorgeous and spacious Hammerstein Ballroom. Immediately after we sat down and ate our appetizers, Greta Gerwig came out and praised the evening’s honoree, Laurie Metcalf. Gerwig introduced a video where everyone from Nathan Lane to Glenda Jackson said that Metcalf was a delight to work with. One in particular said, “She is what we are all striving to be.” While Metcalf didn’t get a chance to perform, clips were shown of her in numerous TV shows, plays, and movies such as Roseanne and Ladybird. We could understand everyone’s compliments after witnessing her acting. Metcalf gave a charming acceptance speech, in which she thanked MCC for putting her in a play which people still say affected them. While her monologue in that play was not shown, it was alluded to so often that we wish it had. Then we ate dinner, after which the evening’s other honoree, Amy Leon, made a very touching speech. To anyone who wasn’t there, MCC recommends donations to their youth program which you can make at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/store/32215/alldonations/26207? If Leon is any example, it really should keep running. She sang a song from her new musical that was touching and creative.
Then, finally, the revue itself started. After a countdown from 10, artistic director Robert LuPone said, “Cassie, stay onstage please.” That started a fantastic rendition by Robert Fairchild of “The Music and the Mirror.” He likes a challenge. He’s been dancing his whole life, and singing has come later on, but you’d never know it, because his voice is just as good as his dancing. And although the dancing was not ballet, which Fairchild excels in, he did just as well at modern/jazz dance. No choreographer is listed in the program, but it must have been choreographed, because no one could just make all of that up. You can tell from the dialogue portion of the song that Fairchild himself, and not only Cassie, has probably had the experience of going for the chorus even when people think of him as a star. And Fairchild himself is beginning to equal the level of Gene Kelly, who he told me is his idol. Then Alex Newell did his first of 2 numbers, making a song that is not very clever more interesting, namely “Being Good Isn’t Good Enough” from Comden and Green’s Hallelujah Baby! While I appreciate him making a more esoteric choice than most people (or maybe it wasn’t him; as artistic director Bernie Telsey said, the team collaborates with the actors to choose the songs), there are probably better songs from old flops that are more suited to him. But he really shone in his other song, which I will discuss later.
Gavin Lee, Ethan Slater, and Wesley Taylor formed one of the best acts in the show. As a jokingly conceited opening, they came out and pretended that the audience wouldn’t stop clapping. No one could after the song that followed. While they didn’t choose a song from any of their favorite shows (respectively Chess, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, or Spongebob (which was all of their favorites)), they still managed to incorporate Spongebob into their song. They talked about how hearing character voices onstage each night could drive a person crazy, and then proceeded to sing as April, Marta and Kathy in the song of that name from Company. They notably changed a few lyrics such as (Bobby is my hobby and I’m giving it up) to (Spongebobby is my hobby and I’m giving it up). It was definitely the most fun song of the entire evening. James Monroe Iglehart, Javier Muñoz, and Lexi Lawson definitely gave it a run for its money, though. Iglehart has moved on from Disney’s Aladdin to replacing Daveed Diggs in Hamilton. But he wishes he could’ve replaced someone else, namely Renee Elise Goldsberry, because he sings “Satisfied” with the help of the certainly not Miscast Javier Muñoz and Lexi Lawson, who actually play Hamilton and Eliza on Broadway. While Muñoz says that Hamilton is hard and emotionally difficult, he doesn’t show it in this number.
But not all numbers were happy and fun. One great number, by Jayne Houdyshell, was touching and moving. Going in a much different direction than her dream role of Mrs. Lovett, she sang two short excerpts of “It Only Takes a Moment,” between which she told about how she and honoree Metcalf met and became friends. Resuming the story with (it only takes a moment/to be loved a whole life long) brought tears to many people’s eyes. Afterwards, Metcalf came up and she and Houdyshell shared a hug, making for one of the sweeter moments of the show. Soon, however, we would get comic relief with Caissie Levy singing “Shiksa Goddess” from The Last 5 Years. While she partly takes her current portrayal of Elsa from the movie, her “Goddess” was not inspired by Jeremy Jordan’s at all. It is a fun and funny song, and Levy managed to get all the laughs out of it possible. She even updated it for today’s political climate (If you had a strong connection/to your firearm collection/I say grab a bead and shoot) to (If you had a strong connection/to your firearm collection/well, that might be a dealbreaker, actually) and made it into one of the best acts of the evening.
Although another singer, Auli’i Cravalho, has never been on Broadway, she has switched from cartoons (Moana) to live singing and acting (Rise). She says that voice acting is natural for her, but it is different when she sees her face, because she doesn’t know what to do with it. She shared how when she first heard this song she thought it was obscure, and she proceeded to sing “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story. She added a pop flair, and it was enjoyable to listen to.
The aforementioned Jeremy Jordan conveniently sang a song from his dream role (we know who picked that one), or “She Used to Be Mine” from Waitress. He managed to make this song very entertaining and also wowed us with his vocal range. Victoria Clark managed also to make The Wiz’s “Be a Lion” very entertaining, and show off her vocal range in the processs. She said that there is no difference between performing for adults and kids, on her end of the process. She shows a remarkable ability to do both. This song is an absolute delight, as is everything she sings. Although Sara Bareilles restarted several times, it was definitely worth it to hear her take on the anthem “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime. Strobe lights helped make it into the showstopper that it turned out to be, but the strength of her voice alone is enough to carry any song. Bareilles has experience being both a song writer and an actor, and she believes that both are telling a story, whether from an internal or external perspective. She shows an immense talent for both, but especially for bringing the house down. She showed an equal ability to do so in the recent Jesus Christ Superstar Live!, in which she sang “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”
While Jordan Fisher disappointingly did not get to dance in this or Hamilton (he won Dancing with the Stars), he showed an equal ability to sing while belting “I’m Here” from The Color Purple, which Cynthia Erivo also sang brilliantly at the Tonys two years ago. While it’s not a fun number, it is a great way for performers to show of their voice, which Fisher did admirably in this song. At one point in the show, Katrina Lenk suddenly stood up in her seat and started doing an impromptu piece on the violin, which led into the famous violin piece from Fiddler on the Roof. She then pop-ized “If I Were a Rich Man,” while adding her own special je ne sais quoi which made it a bring-down-the-house number as well. While silence is her favorite moment in The Band’s Visit, there was none of it in this tour de force. It was the only song that actually got a standing ovation, and it definitely deserved it.
And finally, at the end of the show, Alex Newell, backed up by Krystina Alabado, Marcus Paul James, Tiffany Mann, and Ben Thompson, gave Keala Settle a run for her money singing “This is Me.” This song was especially powerful coming from Newell, as one can assume that he has faced some obstacles throughout his life. He can be so dramatic, it is no wonder that he looks up to Viola Davis. It was also more powerful with the four backup singers, adding the ensemble number quality that it needed. Certainly Miscast employed an old technique called saving the best for last. Finally, everyone took their bows to ferocious applause.
Afterwards, I was able to go up on stage and interview some more actors. I would like to thank everyone I interviewed for letting me interview them and giving great answers, and more than anyone, executive director Blake West for inviting me. I would like to end with a quote from Robert LuPone, another artistic director. “My favorite part of Miscast is the end.”
