By Bart Greenberg***Producer-performer Blake Gioviti assembled a company of 13 other youthful males (one more had to drop out at the last minute) to tackle a collection of Broadway tunes, mostly from contemporary shows, with just a few classic works included, on the stage of The Green Room 42, With so many players shifting on and off the stage, and 16 separate musical numbers, it was a bit of a mixed bag of performance styles and varying energy (and outfits), at times feeling like a series of 
auditions rather than a coherent whole. But some personalities certainly stood out and there was pleasure to be found during the evening.
Kicking the evening off with the full-company was a kinetic version of “Some Kinda Time” (Benj Pasek,Justin Paul) from the most macho of musicals, Dogfight—and it set up the tempo of the show very effectively. This number was followed by a trio version of Glory Days’ “Are You Ready for Tonight” (Nick Blaemire), which displayed the recurring problem of the evening: pulled out of context, the song didn’t make much sense if you weren’t familiar with the show. Much more effective was “When She Smiles” (Lewis Flinn, Douglas Carter Beane) from Lysistrata Jones, nicely acted and sung by Ryan Orbe-Basch. Book of Mormon’s “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone) was one of the more familiar numbers of the evening, and was given a full performance by Cameron Bartelt and Gavin Leahy, complete with some very funny light cues.
Cooper LaMontagne blasted his way through “Shiksa Goddess” (Jason Robert Brown) with a great talent for specificity in his interpretation of lyrics. “The Jet Song” (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim), led by Gavin Leahy and Ben Jessop, worked well with the emphasis on the characters they were inhabiting. From Dear Evan Hansen, “Sincerely Me” (Pasek, Paul) made absolutely no sense out of context, though nicely sung by Connor Martin, Jacob Schiavone and Spencer Gonzalez. One of the highlights of the evening was Turik Iman-Washington, Jr. and Jessop beautifully acting “Agony” (Sondheim), relating well to each other.
One of the stand-out performers of the evening, Owen O., offered a campy tongue-in-cheek version of “It Takes Two” (Mark Shaiman, Scott Wittman) from Hairspray, not only capturing the perfect style for the number but also displaying a fine voice. “Seize the Day” (Alan Menkin, J.A.C. Redford) was a group number featuring some lovely harmony. Owen O. and Orbe-Basch then tackled toxic masculinity for better results than the material provides with “Blue” (Laurence O’Keefe, Kevin Murphy) from Heathers, the Musical. “Dancing Through Life” (Stephen Schwartz) from the inescapable musical Wicked is a number that may be ready to be retired in cabarets for a while, although delivered with charm by Liam Driscoll.
Probably the most obscure song of the evening, “We’re the Man!” (David Hull, Noah Westburg) from the off-Broadway Calvin Berger, was a nice discovery though Schiavone and Nick Lemza could have related to each other more effectively, althoughthe y sang well. For a nice change in sound, Bartell played guitar as he and Giovani, Lemza and LaMontagne shared “Throwing in the Towel” (Jamestown Revival) from The Outsiders. After a noisy “The Bitch of Living” (Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater) by much of the cast, the finale was an energetic celebration of the “Brotherhood of Men” (Frank Loesser) led by Washington, with some dazzling counter tenor worK by Owen O.
The singers were supported throughout the evening by Lauren Burcheri, piano; Thomas E. Carley, bass and Tim Schneider, drums.
