Vienna, VA – It may have been Friday the 13th but the luck of the Scottish was with the near sellout crowd at the Filene Center as we welcomed award winning Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming.
To be clear, I am not a Broadway Fanatic. I love the music of Broadway, however, I know of only a few singers. I know the story behind a lot of the Broadway productions but do not know a lot about the performers. In other words, this was the perfect opportunity to catch Broadway vets live to review the performance as a first timer!!
Alan Cumming was awesome! I recognized his face him from Cabaret and a few other film appearances, but that was it. He casually took the stage and kicked off with a few hilarious one liners before going into “But Alive“.
I have to admit, Cumming’s banter between songs was a bit risqué, and the audience (including myself) loved it!! We learned a bit about his club, Club Cumming, in NYC leading into “Is That All There Is?”
The great thing about Alan was how he weaved stories in with the music. We learned he had became good friends with Florence Henderson. As it turns out, they attended a elite party that only served beer and wine, no hard liquor. Florence was well prepared, as she brought her own vodka, which she was more than willing to share with Alan. Friends forever!! That was “When We Were Young”
Being a native of Scotland, he had become good friends with the Alan proclaimed king of Scotland, Sean Connery. I guess Sean had treated Alan like a son, so Alan had appointed himself a prince of Scotland. The fun story behind their relationship as he told the story of how Connery said something to the effect that, “As long as there is a hole in my arse, I will never vote for the Labor Party”. Quite the definitive statement with a disturbing… but fun.. visual.
Alan rounded out his solo set with a Disney Princess Medley and a moving, “Taylor the Latte Boy”. It was not just music, as he had some fun stories about Kristin and they friendly rivalry they had. I think the most fun story of the night involved Kristin, muffins, and a funeral.
With that, Kristin came out, they exchanged a bit of banter, and finished off the first set with a West Side Story Medley. they were a Broadway pair made in heaven. What a great way to kick off the night.
Alan Cumming Gallery
Alan Cumming Setlist
But Alive
Is That All There Is?
When We Were Young
Disney Princess Medley
Taylor the Latte Boy
West Side Story Medley
After a 20 minute break, Kristin Chenoweth took the stage with “I’m A Woman“, The Filene was a-rockin’! Pausing after the last note, Kristin walked to the piano and picked up a copy of her new book, “I’m No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts“, paged through it, and opined about some of her personal philosophies. She had a flashback to the Cumming’s muffin story, and broke into a brief rendition of “Muffin Man“.
“Yesterday Once More” followed, before going into a powerful, “You Don’t Own Me“. She talked a bit about working with Ariana Grande before singing “The Way We Were“.
Apparently, this Friday the 13th served as an public first anniversary celebration for Kristin and her husband and guitarist, Josh Bryant. I am not sure if there is a name for the song they performed together, but I will just call it the “Chik fil A Song“. It was a hoot, and yet made a very strong political statement.
After “Angels Among Us” we learned the Kristin was a non-judgmental person of Christian faith who loved Hanukah songs! As fate would have it, her friend and songwriter, Stephen Schwartz, had just the song… an all seasons, “We Are Lights“.
Most of my knowledge of Kristin, and the reason I wanted to see her perform, was because of her role as Glinda in the Broadway musical, Wicked!! As I watched her performance at the Filene, I could not help but ask, was she really Glinda in a pervious and pre-Glinda life, or did her role turn her into the Kristin she is today. Her sarcasm, wit, and just fun stage presence was beyond wonderful, it was everything I had expected. Of course, the night would not be complete without SOMETHING from Wicked. Why not make it “Popular“!?
The set concluded with “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman“, and “I Was Here“. As expected, the howl and ovation from the audience could be heard as far away as Arlington, and possibly across the river in the nation’s capital, also know as Oz.
With the conclusion of the encore, “Smile“, we were all doing just that. For just over 2 hours, the Filene Center was home to some great stories, great music, and a lot of memories. I guess one could say, remembering the slang I learned in my brief Boston stay, is that we were all treated to one of the most Wicked Cabarets ever in the history of Wolf Trap! That has a nice ring to it!!
Kristin Chenoweth Gallery
Kristin Chenoweth Setlist
I’m a Woman
Yesterday Once More
You Don’t Own Me
The Way We Were
Chik fil A Song
Hard Times Come Again No More
Angels Among Us
We Are Lights
Pie Jesu
Popular
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
I Was Here
Encore
Smile
