By Andrew Poretz***The second concert of the New York Pops’ 2024 season, One Night Only: An Evening with Max von Essen, held many delights for Great American Songbook fans. The 78-piece orchestra, under the leadership of the charismatic music director and conductor Steven Reineke, devoted this evenin
g to a Broadway tenor Max von Essen. The wonderful Billy Stritch, one of the best accompanists and arrangers in the business, provided piano accompaniment throughout the program.
Maestro Reineke kicked off the program with the overture from Finian’s Rainbow with strains of familiar songs such as “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, “Old Devil Moon” and “”That Great Come-and-Get-It Day,” before introducing von Essen. The tall, slim star appeared quite debonair in his first of four tuxes (frequent outfit changes are a staple of the Pops’ concerts under Reineke).
In his first appearance of the evening, von Essen sang “Old Devil Moon.” Though a fine singer with a beautiful tone, the mix on von Essen’s mic was thin and under-powered. He was frequently drowned out when the orchestra played at full volume. This sound issue continued through the first half, though it was noticeably improved after the intermission. Still, in those softer passages or where only a few instruments were used, he was excellent.
The classically-trained von Essen is a lively performer, bouncing around the stage at times, and has the charm, humor and presence to turn the Stern Auditorium into a the largest intimate cabaret space. The star related that he had previously sung “I Have Dreamed” (The King and I) only as a duet. He sang it solo for the first time (with an orchestration miscredited in the program to Robert Russell Bennett, who did arrange the original Broadway soundtrack). This arrangement, though, was clearly Nelson Riddle’s from The Concert Sinatra (with a similarly sized orchestra), with von Essen borrowingg some of Sinatra’s phrasing, notably the final “that by now I think I know” toward the end.
The performance of “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” (Les Misérables) was a beautiful highlight of the evening. With just guitar accompaniment at first, before other instruments joined in, von Essen’s singing perfectly captured the emotional impact of the lyric. Though he had dreamed of playing Marius, he said, he never got the part. Here, he reveled at the opportunity “to sing this song with 78 of the greatest musicians in the world.” The first half of the concert ended with a terrific Gershwin segment of music from the musical An American in Paris, for which von Essen was nominated for a Tony Award. Set off by the jazzy instrumental, “Prelude No. 2” (using Nelson Riddle’s arrangement), von Essen then performed the medley, superbly arranged by Fred Barton.
The second half of the program was quite spectacular. An intimate, dreamy “On This Night of a Thousand Stars” (Evita), arranged by Billy Stritch, had von Essen singing with just Stritch and cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf. It was also magical to hear the Overture from the legendary Judy at Carnegie Hall concert recreated in Carnegie Hall! Suitably, von Essen followed withbsongs associated with Judy Garland, including “The Trolley Song.”
A medley of “Almost Like Being in Love” (Brigadoon) and a swinging “This Can’t Be Love” (The Boys from Syracuse), a number not mentioned in the program, brought von Essen and Stritch together f
or a vocal duet, followed by the surprise guest appearance of the fabulous singer Gabrielle Stravelli for “Come Rain or Come Shine” ( St. Louis Woman). This song was also not in the program, and recreated the percussion-oriented arrangement Garland performed at Carnegie Hall in 1961.
Superb performances of “The Man That Got Away” (A Star Is Born, 1954) and “Being Alive” (Company) ended the show. But wait! There’s more! The star surprised by returning to the mic for an emotional acknowledgement of the many sacrifices made by his parents over his lifetime in support of his career. With his parents seated in the center of the third row, he serenaded them with an encore not listed in the program: Barry Manilow and and Marty Panzer’s “I Am Your Child.” There was not a dry eye in the house.
Photos: Richard Termine
