Broadway in Concert

Everyday it becomes clearer that the population of Brasília is not ready and does not know how to act at a recital. The large number of rock concerts and other such things has obviously conditioned the population of this city and instructed them on how they should act when watching any sort of performance by any sort of musician. At least that is the impression that one got at the Broadway in Concert performance on September 5^th. The audience shouting “LINDO” and “LINDA” and whistling in between every song made the atmosphere of the recital more like that of a Ramones concert than that of a recital of Broadway’s hits with the presence of tenors, baritones and sopranos.

On the day it was performed, a Wednesday at 9 pm, it was to be expected that there would not be a very expressive audience. Come to think of it, the audience would most likely be greatly consisted, as it in fact was, of friends and acquaintances of the performers. Because of this, some of the friendly reactions that occurred are understandable. However, the audience’s response ended up being out of place and brought the attention away from an otherwise great performance to the childish reaction of the audience.

If we steer away from the audience’s inadequate response, the performance was perfect. The stage was simple and elegant, ideal for the kind of recital performed. There were six stools center stage were the singers sat and two pianos and an acoustic guitar for the musicians that accompanied the singers during the performance. The singers remained seated in the dark and stood, with a spotlight, only when it was their turn to sing.

The performers selected a wonderful mix of Broadway hits from the best modern-day musicals. Never duplicating the line up of singers for each song, the recital displayed the very best out of each singer and gave them the opportunity to fully explore their vocal range. They ultimately gifted the cheerful and receptive audience with RENT’s “Seasons of Love” as the encore, encouraging the audience to clap as the song reached its climax; much like it is done at the original Broadway performance.

One of the only technical problems was the audio system that was too loud and occasionally caused the pianos to overshadow the vocal performances. Besides that, the night was extremely pleasurable for all those that appreciate and are touched by Broadway’s best hits.

- Gabriela Becker