Broadway Love Songs with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Nathan Aspinall, featuring vocalists Carole Bufford, Stephanie Jae Park, Chris Blem and Zina Goldrich
Orchestra Hall
Detroit
Feb. 14-16, 2025
There’s something about a Broadway love song that pulls at your heartstrings in a way a love story in a straight play, book or film cannot. For Valentine’s Day weekend, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra put some of the best of those songs together for a Broadway Love Songs concert as part of their PNC Pop Series. The concert was conducted by Nathan Aspinall and featured vocalists Carole Bufford, Stephanie Jae Park, Chris Blem and Zina Goldrich, who also accompanied on piano.
The concert had a range of love songs, not all of them sappy, and not always even the romantic kind. Organizer Scott Coulter said the fantasy “happily ever after” can get boring. So he wanted love songs that have “life” in them – including feelings of regret and betrayal – and included other kinds of love, like the love in friendships and for life in general.
The first half of the show featured more traditional, happy show tunes dominated by Rodgers and Hammerstein music from “Carousel,” “The King and I,” “Cinderella” and “South Pacific.” The second half of the show featured a wider range of love songs which spanned various decades, styles and facets of love and included music from “Little Shop of Horrors” “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Wicked,” “Hamilton” and “Beautiful,” among others.
For those, like myself, who love show tunes but maybe not classical music, Broadway Love Songs was a great way to experience the DSO in a way that speaks our language. The powerful Broadway vocalists drew me into the music, which was then beautifully complemented with a rich, full orchestra. In an age where large Broadway orchestras have become a thing of the past, it was refreshing to hear the music live and in their fullest capacity, when modern options to do so are limited. The DSO itself shined, playing two songs unaccompanied, including the lush waltz from “Carousel” and “10 Minutes Ago” from “Cinderella.”
One of my favorite songs of the evening was Blem’s resonant rendition of “Almost Like Being in Love” from “Brigadoon,” a cheerful song about the bliss of the first stages of love and a Broadway love song that gets far too little attention, in my opinion.
Goldrich, also an award-winning composer, treated the audience to the title song of her musical “Ever After” – based on the 1998 film – which has largely been performed in regional theater as it works its way to Broadway. She also channeled a great Carole King with “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” from the jukebox musical “Beautiful.”
Park, who played Eliza in “Hamilton” on Broadway for years, brought her Schuyler sister to Detroit with one of the character’s signature songs, “Burn,” perhaps the most outlying song of the night. The haunting number comes after Eliza learns of her husband’s affair, and though it was not accompanied by the show’s live bonfire, Park’s vocals made you feel that simmering wrath, especially during a very pregnant pause toward the end, where the silent fury is almost terrifying.
Arguably the star of the show was Bufford who served as both a featured singer and emcee. Her charm and confidence commanded the stage, and she kept the energy flowing throughout the night. She fully embodied Judy Garland when she sang “The Man that Got Away” from “A Star is Born” and “The Trolley Song” from “Meet Me in St. Louis.” In the second half of the program, she carried the charismatic Garland genes to channel her daughter Liza Minelli in “Cabaret,” celebrating a love of life.
While the execution of the music was beautiful, my primary critique of the evening was the song selection, which largely catered to older patrons. I enjoyed all the music and appreciated that it wasn’t only sappy love songs, but – romantic and traditional or not – the fantastic catalog of American musical theater has so many more options. You could feature an all-star line-up of songs without having to include music from within the same shows or even from the same composers. I would also eliminate songs from jukebox musicals – shows made from pre-existing pop songs – in favor of keeping everything original Broadway music. It could also have been an opportunity hear songs that aren't typically performed by large orchestras in a new way.
Instead of so many Rodgers and Hammerstein songs, I would have loved “All I Ask of You” from “Phantom of the Opera” and “Till There was You” from “The Music Man,” which to me are two of the best Broadway love songs of all time. It would have also been fun to hear “Hairspray’s” “(You're) Timeless to Me,” a playful song about staying in love long past the initial bliss and beauty of youth. “The Sound of Music’s” “Edelweiss” – while I know is still Rodgers and Hammerstein – would have been a great expansion of the alternative kinds of love as an ode to country. “The Music Man’s” “Goodnight, My Someone” is a beautiful song on the hope for love. On a more melancholy note, “Company’s” “Being Alive” or “On My Own” from “Les Misérables” would have been great options on the loneliness of being without love. “Rent’s” “Seasons of Love” would have been a spectacular finale and one that would certainly appeal to younger musical theater fans.
But, of course, musical taste is subjective, and there’s no shortage of options to fill up a stellar evening of Broadway love songs. Overall, the evening was a great opportunity to enjoy the DSO beyond its classical repertoire.
