I now have Sherie Rene Scott's rendition of "Up the Ladder to the Roof," right at the top of my everyday ipod playlist. I saw "Everyday Rapture" last night and downloaded the song from iTunes the minute I got home. I downloaded too, "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe," "It's You I Like," and "I Guess the Lord Must be in New York City." It is worthwhile to note, I think, that I had each of these songs already in my iTunes library. I just couldn't wait to have Sherie Rene's Scott's versions from "Everyday Rapture." Couldn't wait to listen today.
This is the Broadway Roundabout transfer to the American Airlines theater of this small play that plays big, due to the force of nature that is Ms. Scott. Now, I am, in fact, predisposed to like a vehicle for Ms. Scott's lavish talents--I like her. But she does something so marvelous here, that is simply nowhere near as easy as it seems--she chooses, and then renders her own perfect version, of the perfect song for the perfect mood. There are more moments here of sheer musicality and resonance than perhaps any one-womanish show has any right to.
I say one-womanish. There are only three others--her terrific duo of backup singers, The Mennonettes, and broadwayislove09@earthlink.net (15 yr. old Eamon Foley in what may well be a star-making turn). Now, don't get me wrong--these three are a smash!
In the book, which is long on analogy and metaphor, Ms. Scott whispers a sort of incantatory wish to be "living in the song," as Judy (Garland) did. Then she steps right in, and lives in 'em! Hey, if you're gonna throw down the gauntlet to a Broadway crowd--you might as well throw the thing way way down, right?
The minimal set is just right here-- it lets the sheer candlepower of the star shine through for every watt it's worth. But wait--we're not talking belting here. Yes, she's got a voice that can open wide. But it's measured here, for maximum emotional connection. At the end of "It's You I Like," the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ballad (done brilliantly), the follow-spot stays on Ms. Scott three or four beats after the music stops, while she sits with our emotions in her hands and her heart in ours--full of a sort of grace. Those are the moments that define a life in the theater, a devotion to the art form.
It is precisely for moments like that, that a kid from the suburbs took the bus into the city to get a seat for a matinee and sit and wait, sit and hope, one might come along. Ah, but when they did...
Ron Gallen
Comments