Here comes my most biased review ever. Probably. Definitely take the following with a grain of salt. I have loved Barry Manilow, and his music, for nearly 40 years. I think the only guy I've been a bigger fan of for that long is my daddy. :) Barry's songs have gotten me through many a rough patch over the years, and it touches me how poignant I find many of his songs today.
A not-so-brief backstory: when I was growing up, popular music wasn't really a part of my life. I took piano lessons, but mainly played music familiar to my elderly teacher. My parents listened to Elvis and the Beatles, and my grandparents listened to gospel music (naturally, Elvis singing gospel music is a strong memory). One year, in my school music class, we listened to a popular song as an example of song structure. That song was "I Write The Songs." Coincidentally, the performer of that song was on a concert tour and would be performing at our local summer concert venue. A school friend and I talked our families into going, since we had 'studied' his work in school. Off to the concert we went. And so, in the mid 1970s, my love and adoration for Barry Manilow was born. And it continues, unabated, to this day.
I often think of an Oscar Hammerstein lyric, 'somebody kind who touches your mind will suddenly touch your heart,' when I think of my early crushes. It's my opinion that when a young girl falls in love from, say, ages 9 -14, that love is forever. And Oscar (as usual) nails it perfectly. Suddenly, there's someone on whom you can safely rest your hopes and dreams; there's someone who has all the words you've been looking for. That's who Barry Manilow became for me.
We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, and I'll never know exactly what they had to sacrifice, but my parents always indulged my Barry-love. His new albums, sheet music so I could play the songs on the piano, and his concerts were enjoyed by my whole family (at least that's what I tell myself). And, yes, a poster or two graced my bedroom walls. One happy Christmas, I even got my own small stereo, so I could listen to his music to my heart's content. My parents were (and are) the absolute best.
I've seen most of Barry's concert tours, in many cities; I own all of his music (now on CD); and I still feel the same rush of feeling when I hear those songs. Barry even introduced me to the genius that is Barbara Cook (and I will always be extremely grateful for that)! Albums, and songs, replace each other as my personal favorites as the years go by. I certainly was greatly moved by more than a few of the songs last night.
So, FINALLY, getting to last night's performance - I was supposed to attend the show last Wednesday, but I was all nervous about stupid grand jury duty, so I traded my ticket to a friend and got another ticket for last night. Then, Barry got bronchitis, and canceled all of last week's performances. So I used last week's ticket and got two tickets for last night and took my friend. We had a GRAND time.
I spend the entirety of a Barry Manilow concert with a smile on my face. My heart is filled with nostalgia and innocence of youth and love of the music. I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of saying a bad thing about an evening spent with Barry, though I WILL say that his lower register sounded a tad ragged, due to the aftereffects of bronchitis, but his upper register sounded fantastic. He clearly has taken amazing care of his voice over the years, because it sounds pretty much as it did all those years ago (and we got proof when he did a duet with his younger self!), but the years have added a touching ruefulness to his rendering of his lyrics. The songs have always been personal, but now they're tinged with something else. Not regret, exactly, but an acknowledgement that what he's singing and what he's FEELING may not directly coincide. Subtext, perhaps? I don't know. I just found a lot of the evening way more moving in different ways than usual. And I'll admit to shedding tears during "Even Now" and "This One's For You."
As usual at a Barry event, the fans are electric and borderline out of control. With glo-sticks! We had a real wackadoodle up in the balcony with us. But it's a true love fest, and Barry revels in it. He has an easy rapport with the crowd, and when he took an audience member's song request, it was an adorably real moment. Barry was trying to set up the song, "Somewhere Down the Road," and the guy kept yelling, "Just sing!" Suddenly Barry laughed and said he felt like he was performing at a family Passover dinner! He just has the crowd in his pocket from moment one and doesn't let go. And I always love the moment when the crowd is screaming and Barry just says "Still?" Yes, still! And always!!
This show is just a fun combination of heartfelt personal song cycle and glitzy Vegas revue. I'll admit, at the start, I was happy that the evening was a 90-minute intermissionless show, but now I feel like I have to go back for more. That's Barry Manilow. After nearly 40 years, he keeps me coming back for more. Excuse me while I put on some of his music. What should I pick? Oh, I know!! Last night, Barry did a song from the Broadway show he wrote a few years ago, "Every Single Day," from Harmony. What a glorious song. I'll listen to that. My friend and I are trying to figure out whose arm to twist to get this show produced! How heavenly would it would be to combine two of my loves, theater and Barry, in one package. I may spontaneously combust...
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