My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies

On a September evening last fall, at New York's venerable Carnegie Hall, a star-studded audience was treated to a concert of Broadway showstoppers performed by the greatest divas of the American theatre. Under the baton of musical director Paul Gemignani, the American Theatre Orchestra accompanied Liza Minnelli, Audra McDonald, Linda Eder, Nell Carter, Andrea McArdle, Jennifer Holliday, Lea Delaria and a host of other Broadway luminaries in what was certainly the event of the fall season. Featuring selections from Chicago, A Chorus Line, Showboat, Guys and Dolls, Ain't Misbehavin', Dreamgirls, Company, Gypsy, Man of La Mancha, On the Town and others, this evening of song and celebrity will live forever, preserved on home video for any time you feel like bringing up the curtain! Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks. 100 minutes.

A live concert at Carnegie Hall filmed in September 1998, My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies gathers a glittering lineup of Broadway's best, past and present. Some marquee names such as Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, and Betty Buckley are conspicuously missing, and Julie Andrews hosts but does not sing, but it still has Liza and stars aplenty from the '90s (Bebe Neuwirth, Faith Prince) as well as the '70s and '80s (Elaine Stritch, Jennifer Holliday, Nell Carter). The older stars sing songs from landmark original roles, while the '90s stars tend to sing either songs they've performed in revivals or songs from older shows--curiously, modern headliners such as Audra McDonald and Linda Eder sing older material rather than the contemporary shows (Ragtime, Jekyll & Hyde, respectively, among others) with which they are strongly associated.

A number of these performances might be slightly inferior to those on the original recordings, but there are a number of gems, and the star power of the whole lineup is undeniable. In addition, even though only a few numbers provide action to watch, video is a valuable format for this concert because it gives faces to stars who most viewers outside of New York might recognize only by name or still photographs, and also allows fans to catch up with yesterday's stars. (Those who were dazzled by Andrea McArdle's cameo in the 1999 TV remake of her original star-making vehicle, Annie, will love her sweet, understated performance here.) Furthermore, the 99-minute video program provides more footage than the PBS telecast (85 minutes) or the CD release (61 minutes). This is highly recommended for Broadway fans. --David Horiuchi