Brian Stokes Mitchell with the Boston Pops

As part of my discovering-what's- playing-in-my-own-backyard tour, last night I took in Brian Stokes Mitchell singing with the Boston Pops. The title of the concert was "Broadway's Leading Man," which I felt was a bit presumptuous. BSM is a talented guy, but he's not the only leading man Broadway has these days.

So I have to admit I was a bit prejudiced going in, further reinforced by a conversation I had recently. When I mentioned I was going to the concert to my friend David, he said that after he saw Mitchell's self-aggrandizing curtain-call bow at the end of Ragtime, it was over for him with BSM. He even skipped the revival of Kiss Me, Kate, lest he be forced to witness the self-love fest once again.

But before we get to Mitchell's performance with the Pops, I must mention what happened during the first half of the concert. After a perfunctory tribute to Leonard Bernstein on the 90th anniversary of his birth, conductor Keith Lockhart segued into three performances by semi-finalists in the Pops' first-ever high school musical-theater sing-off. In other words, "American Idol" with showtunes. Predictably, the girl with the most vibrato and the biggest mannerisms won, giving an emotionally excessive rendition of "Being Alive." (As performed here, "Being ALLLLLLLLLLLive!!!")

So, I was feeling a mite perturbed when BSM took to the stage. Lockhart introduced Mitchell as a "legendary" performer, which made me bristle. No, Keith. Judy Garland is legendary. Brian Stokes Mitchell is sort of well-known within a very parochial group of Broadway insiders. I was reminded of Gerard Alessandrini's parody of "Wunderbar," featured in Forbidden Broadway 2001: A Spoof Odyssey.

Would-be stars
Would-be stars
[...]
But my name you'll forget
'Cuz I'm not quite famous yet

My overall reaction to Mitchell's concert set was that I wanted to climb up onto the stage and wipe the smug, self-congratulatory smile off his admittedly chiseled face. The songs he sang were mostly over-the-top show-stoppers ("Some Enchanted Evening," "Impossible Dream," "This Nearly Was Mine") mixed in with the occasional over-orchestrated standard ("How Long Has This Been Going On"), or showboating virtuoso piece ("Don't Rain on My Parade," "Tchaikovsky").

The few interesting selections (Maury Yeston's lovely "New Words," "I Was Here" from The Glorious Ones) also failed to land, mostly because of Mitchell's immodest delivery, and his propensity toward RLNS (Really Long Note Syndrome). Mitchell also did a painfully twee rendition of "It's Not That Easy Being Green," trying unsuccessfully to channel his remote youthful self, which had me squirming in my seat.

Don't get me wrong: Brian Stokes Mitchell can be a terrific performer. With the right material and a strong-armed director, he's quite an imposing and effective actor. But left to his own devices, he seems to be following in the self-indulgent steps of Mandy Patinkin.

As Guenevere says to Lancelot in Camelot: "Tell me, Milord, have you come to terms with humility lately?"

Comments

[Justin]

You're out of your mind. BSM gave a great performance! I fell for almost every song he performed for the audience. I honestly do not see how a person like yourself, so educated in theatre cannot appreciate what gift this man has. Its interesting how closely we agreed with Huntingtons "she loves me" then how total opposite ends we are on this topic!

Did he hold out notes longer than written? Yes! But its a showcase all about him, and he can do whatever he pleases!

[chris caggiano]

Justin,

In the future, please keep your comments collegial. Phrases like "you're out of your mind" and condescending remarks like "how can a person like you..." reflect a lack of respect that I don't appreciate.

You're free to differ in your opinion, but I shan't be changing mine. Mitchell is on the road to self-parody if he doesn't temper his excesses.

--cc

[Justin]

My apologies towards my remarks, however when I re-read what you had to say about Brian, im kind of curious what he did during his bow of Ragtime, I never caught the Broadway Production...Live.

[SarahB]

I've only seen BSM perform at various Broadway concerts. Oh my God. His voice is glorious but that attitude is RIDICULOUS! I can just imagine that he himself wrote the script for Lockhart.

[jan@broadwayandme]

I'm somewhat surprised by these comments about Stokes. I don't know him personally but from all I've heard, including from my musician husband K, he's really a great guy--and a humble one too. K played on one of Stokes' albums and when the early review copies came out, Stokes hand delivered them to the guys in the band. That's not the behavior of someone who is self-involved.

[chris caggiano]

jan,

I'm sure he's very collegial behind the scenes. But his onstage persona, at least as it manifested itself the night I saw him, was pretty unbearable. There's no question hes a talented guy. I just hope his moderate success hasnt gone to his head. Because the night I saw him, it really seemed as though it had.

Regards,

Chris

[David Kahn]

My wife and I are big fans of BSM and we're going to see him tonight at Radio City Music Hall. I'll let you know how it went.

Frankly, you'd be hard pressed to final a major talent in show biz who doesn't show some ego when performing. This applies to the Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Bette Midler and others. But we've seen BSM perform several times and at no time did he ever let ego get in the way of his performance. (Check out his quiet rendition of "This Nearly Was Mine" on You Tube, which brought down the house a few years ago at Carnegie Hall.)