By Marilyn Lester****They’re two songwriters who are friends, have worked together, but have never shared a stage before this Broadway at Birdland concert series evening. The “they” are Amanda McBroom and John Bucchino, who with Sweet Dreams and Roses definitively showed why each is a Grammy-nominated composer: Amanda McBroom for “The Rose,” “Erroll Flynn” and “Portrait,” and John Bucchino for “Sweet Dreams,” “Grateful” and Broadway’s A Catered Affair—also Tony-nominated. What they have in common, and perhaps saw and prized in each other, is their clean, honest storytelling in song. Both write smart, literate lyrics and both are adept at melody and harmony. With “Beautiful Mistake” (music, Bucchino; lyrics, McBroom) and “Interesting Times” (music, Bucchino; lyrics, McBroom), their collaboration is revealed to be both sophisticated and diverse.
McBroom is not only a songwriter (both music and lyrics) but also an actress and singer. Her style is mellow and yet at the same time powerful. She has a keen capacity for interpretation, often adding a kicker at the end of her material, as in her “Putting Things Away.” In “Eggs” (music, Michele Brourman; lyrics McBroom), she communicated a capacity for wry humor—just one of the many emotions contained in her body of work. Her solo number, “The Portrait,” on the other end of the emotional scale, is as poignant as can be, and her execution of it was purely heart-wrenching. The work that brought Bucchino to her attention is his “Sweet Dreams,” sent to her in one of his famously-known self-made cassettes. Her interpretation was gentle and sensitive.
Bucchino, who is musically self-taught, took notice of McBroom’s most famous song, “The Rose” (beautifully performed as their encore), but says he was “blown away” by “Eggs.” He is also a reality-based story-song specialist, sometimes writing from intensely personal experience. Such is the case with “Learn How to Say Goodbye” and “On My Bedside Table,” each a song of catharsis in response to failed relationships. Bucchino delivered both with passion. His most famous song, “Grateful,” was sung with intensity by McBroom as their pre-encore, closing number.
Bucchino is also an extremely talented improvisational pianist of the works of others. His two such albums, On Richard Rodgers’ Piano and Beatles Reimagined, demonstrate a soaring, lush artistry of magnificent interpretation. From the former album he played a transcendent “My Favorite Things” (music, Richard Rodgers; lyrics, Oscar Hammerstein). The other nod to works not their own was, in the spirit of the season, albeit a season in the midst of political woe, a hopeful “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (music, Hugh Martin; lyrics, Ralph Blane).
The set list was developed by the duo to reflect their favorite songs. The choices were superb ones. By the final note of the evening, musical cups were overflowing everywhere.
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