REVIEW: “Anything Can Happen in the Theater: The Musical World of Maury Yeston”

The York Theatre Company in Midtown East presents the first mainstage production of their 50th anniversary season with “Anything Can Happen in the Theater: The Musical World of Maury Yeston”, a delightful new musical revue in tribute to composer and lyricist Maury Yeston.

By my count, Stephen Sondheim has at least five such revues, Jerry Herman two, and Kander and Ebb one.  Mr. Yeston, a songwriter of the highest caliber, is tragically oft-overlooked when considering the greats of Broadway.  And yet, two of his musicals have earned the top prize of best musical at the Tony Awards—“Nine” in 1982 and “Titanic” in 1997—and a third, “Grand Hotel” (1989), was a smash hit. 

Lesser known works in the Yeston canon include “Phantom” (1991), his adaption of Gaston Leroux’s novel overshadowed by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s juggernaut, and “Death Takes a Holiday” (2011), while even more unknown offerings include “In the Beginning” (1987), a Biblical satire, “December Songs” (1991), a song-cycle, and “The Queen of Basin Street”, an unfinished adaption of “La Cage aux Folles” set in New Orleans that was scrapped and replaced by the Jerry Herman version.

And so it was about time someone put together a show celebrating Mr. Yeston’s considerable body of work.  Enter Gerard Alessandrini, of “Forbidden Broadway” fame, who removed his comedy hat to conceive and direct this revue, first at the Triad, and now for a run at the York through December 29th.

Mining the obscurer corners of the Yeston songbook, the revue presents twenty-four songs including mainstays like “Unusual Way” and “Home” but also a host that even the most devout musical theatre fan might not know, making it a pleasant surprise and a refreshingly, and unexpectedly, non-nostalgic experience.

In true revue fashion, a cast of five singers (Benjamin Eakeley, Jovan E’Sean, Alex Getlin, Justin Keyes, and Mamie Parris) present the material straight, without a forced framing device, backed only by a piano.  Simple production values—mostly colorful light projections to match the mood of each song—allow for Mr. Yeston’s work to gloriously take center stage. 

While I was surprised that only one song from “Titanic” made the playlist, it is a thrill to discover “new” songs from a favorite composer and to hear unproduced gems from his trunk—including pop tunes in the vein of Elton John and Carole King. 

The women of the cast are vocally stronger and more engaging performers than the men, with Ms. Getlin’s rendition of “Danglin’” coming in as a highlight of the evening, but nonetheless, it remains a joy to experience the wit and gorgeous melodies of Mr. Yeston’s songs from start to finish. 

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“Anything Can Happen in the Theater: The Musical World of Maury Yeston”
York Theatre Company
619 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Running Time: 75 minutes (no intermission)
Opening Night: December 5, 2019
Final Performance: December 29, 2019
Tickets