Broadway Men: John Tartaglia, Jonathan Groff, Nick Adams

Photo: Linda Lenzi/Broadwayworld.com (used with permission)

There was magic in the air. The only thing missing was Karen Morrow belting “I Had A Ball” (from the show of the same title.) The song's the thing. But in this case, the leading men were the big noise. And what a noise they made at the recent Leading Men IV concert at Birdland to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Benefit concerts are often poorly organized, long-winded affairs in which the talent is pulled out of a grab-bag and a restless audience longs for a director's Magic Marker. That's why this cabaret style concert came as a welcome surprise - thanks to New York Daily News entertainment editor and show producer Wayman Wong along with director Alan Muraoka. The evening was hosted with panache by John Tartaglia (currently appearing in “Shrek.”)

The concert, which brought out some of the cream of "leading men" Broadway and cabaret singers and dancers, had performers keeping the pace swift and banter to a minimum. As expected, the song bag was eclectic and the show was speckled with show-stoppers. Always irrepressible, Tartaglia kept the fast paced evening moving with fun anecdotes fused with respectful introductions. Even “Cast Party” host Jim Caruso kept his trademark zingers to a minimum. He left everyone holding their sides when, following 16 year old cherub faced Graham Phillips (“13,”) who sang a killer version of “Giants In the Sky,” quipped, “After that, I feel like the Helen Hayes of cabaret!” Caruso, who recently made his Broadway debut in "Liza's Back At The Palace," sailed through Glen Kelly's tricky "A Song For My Friends." And multi-talented musical director Seth Rudetsky was a riot on a solo turn “deconstructing”audio clips of famous leading men upstaged by their leading ladies with lame snippets to sing opposite their female counterparts such as Ethel Merman brashly trumpeting “Roses' Turn” from “Gypsy” and then Jack Klugman wanly warbling through a few lines from “You'll Never Get Away From Me.” Poor Sydney Chaplin had to compete with Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl” to have his “solo” heard. In the evening's most poignant moment, Rudetsky gave a deserving nod to the late David Carroll (“Grand Hotel”) with a sound byte showing his glorious tenor from a performance at Steve McGraw's (now known as The Triad) for Broadway Cares in its early stages. This tip of the hat tied in perfectly as Carroll, a beloved Broadway leading man, died of AIDS in 1992 (the tape also had the late Wally Harper at the piano.)

But the evening belonged to the spirited leading men from Broadway and the clubs. And there were many highlights. Tony Yazbeck kicked it all off with a driving “Marry Me A Little” from “Company.” Handsome Michael Kadin Craig was sensitive on a reading of “More” by Michael Patrick Walker. Nick Rodriguez (“Tarzan”) sang a jazzy “Just In Time” from the 1956 “Bells Are Ringing.” This was the first of some jazz flavored ditties that offset the heavier theater music that dominated the evening.

Cabaret leading man Tom Andersen offered a wrenching “Let It Be Me” that riveted. Broadway hunk Nick Adams shined with a pensive “Come To Me, Bend To Me” from “Brigadoon” that showed a deeper side of the popular dancer. Cabaret singer turned jazz stylist Jack Donahue sang a nicely crafted “But Not For Me.”After Targalia's hilarious admission about once having a crush on him, Paolo Montalban ("Cinderella”) was a hit with “Close Upon the Hour” from “The King Of Hearts.” The boyish Jonathan Groff ("Spring Awakening") did a riotous comic turn singing and yodeling his way through a campy medley from “The Sound Of Music.” Broadway Boys' Zak Reznick's trenchant “The Streets Of Dublin” from “A Man Of No Importance”wove a tender moment. Other more serious highlights included two performers who seemed to embody everything that is best about the theater. Most recently from from "A Tale Of Two Cities," Kevin Earley's excellent show-stopping delivery on “This Nearly Was Mine” (“South Pacific”) and Broadway leading man James Barbour's semi-operatic baritone on a fiercely intense “If I Can't Love Her” from “Beauty And the Beast” were eceptional highlights. Both dramatic voices were remarkable as they recalled greats from a bygone era when full bodied voices once prevailed as the norm. Both were unafraid to let loose vocally, break the often delicate rules of today's sometimes limited vocal decorum and convey an unbridled passion that stood out from the crowd. In contrast to their impressive (and welcome) grand standing, a humbler Norm Lewis ("The Little Mermaid") who stopped the show last year with a totally rousing "Before the Parade Passes By,'" closed the show with class dedicating an unadorned “Moon River” to the late casting agent Vincent Liff.

Overall, the evening went by too fast as far as many were concerned (note to other directors/producers: this is a good sign.) Such an abundance of talent was quite remarkable at what has become an anticipated annual event. Others on the bill included swing crooner Tom Postilio (“Our Sinatra”) teamed with novice Mickey Conlon for an under-rehearsed, albeit silly, “Me And My Shadow” given a terrific swing arrangement with John Di Pinto at the piano. And dancer Cody Green (“West Side Story”) sang a sincere and swinging “The Best Is Yet To Come” (Leigh/Coleman.)

The evening was a huge success taking in over $10,000 for BC/EFA. Aside from Mr. Wong, credit goes to Gianni Valenti and the staff at Birdland for their generous contributions making this annual testosterone circus of talent a must see –especially for theater lovers (which were represented in abundance in the audience.)

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS remains the well respected organization that has helped so many throughout the years from the theater community. In the final analysis, the evening was a multi-talented showcase of generous and committed artists delivering exceptional contemporary and traditional style performances that truly shined. Judging by the SRO crowd's enthusiastic response, they may have to add a second show next year. Let's hope.