What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined
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Cititour.com Review
The music of pop songwriter Burt Bacharach may have defined the 1960s for many listeners, thanks to the recordings of Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, and other great vocalists. Nevertheless, these timeless tunes keep being re-introduced to new generations in new ways, from Naked Eyes’ 1980 techno-pop version of “Always Something There to Remind Me” to the use of “I Say a Little Prayer” as a goofy sing-along in the 1997 Julia Roberts film “My Best Friend’s Wedding” to Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Morrison’s cover of “One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not a Home” on TV’s “Glee” in 2010.
Now, the 26-year-old Canadian-born Broadway and pop star Kyle Riabko is putting his own spin on these superlative songs in “What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined,” a thoroughly engaging 90-minute theatrical revue at New York Theatre Workshop. And even if the show doesn’t exactly live up to its subtitle, Riabko’s mostly stripped-down arrangements of two dozen of Bacharach’s hits -- as performed a septet of very talented singer-musicians – are there to remind us just how gorgeously crafted Bacharach’s melodies and Hal David’s lyrics truly are.
While the show is essentially a concert, it has been given some theatrical trappings by choreographer-director Steven Hoggett, who utilizes some of his signature movements (a la “Once), and an elaborate set design by Tony winner Christine Jones and Brett J. Banakis that occasionally comes into play. For example, once seven chairs are placed on a sometimes rotating turntable, it’s not surprising that “A House Is Not a Home” will shortly be sung (quite beautifully by the sweet-voiced Riabko). However, the piece mostly eschews any use of characterization or vignettes (a la the Roundabout’s ill-fated “The Look of Love”), choosing wisely to let the songs speak for themselves.
Accordingly, it’s Bacharach and David’s aching ballads that achieve maximum impact, from Riabko’s plaintive “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “Alfie,” to Nathaly Lopez’s soulful “Don’t Make Me Over” and Laura Dreyfuss’ heartbreaking “Walk On By.” But I’d be equally happy to listen again to the group’s almost boy-band-like take on “This Guy’s In Love With You,” their not-too-saccharine rendition of “Close to You” (in which both the men and women stick to the “him” pronoun) or the deliciously silly “What’s New Pussycat,” which almost practically invites you to join in on the chorus.
And, in the end, no matter what you do to the Bacharach-David catalogue, the answer to the musical question “What’s It All About?” always remains the same: Love, sweet love.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.nytw.org
Cast
Daniel Bailen, Laura Dreyfuss, James Nathan Hopkins, Nathaly Lopez, Kyle Riabko, James Williams, and Daniel Woods
Open/Close Dates
Opening 12/5/2013
Closing 2/16/2014
Theatre Info
New York Theatre Workshop
79 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
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