Playhouse cast showcases classic musical tunes

Was famed Broadway songwriter Richard Rodgers (“The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel”) actually two separate composers?

According to J. Kent Barnhart, Rodgers certainly “sounded” like two dissimilar tunesmiths.

Rodgers adapted his style to capture the feel of the lyrics, and the two lyricists he worked most closely with could not have been more different.

“Rodgers & Hart & Hammerstein” is the latest revue from director/pianist and emcee Barnhart at the Quality Hill Playhouse.

This overview of Rodgers’ music divides the show into two acts, the first highlighting his work with Oscar Hammerstein II and the second with Lorenz Hart.

Vocalists Alison Sneegas Borberg, Melinda MacDonald and Charles Fugate join Barnhart for this spirited concert, with Steven Lenhert and Ken Remmert providing sterling support on bass and drums.

Rodgers, it has often been said, was incapable of writing a bad melody. That perception is certainly borne out by the 29 terrific songs Barnhart has chosen to showcase.

The ensemble begins the show with the appropriately titled “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from the 1945 Hollywood movie “State Fair.” It’s one of only a handful of tunes that Rodgers composed directly for the big screen.

Fugate offers up the bucolic anthem “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” from “Oklahoma!” Borberg follows with “Many a New Day” and then joins Fugate on the classic duet “People Will Say We’re In Love.”

Rodgers only occasionally provided his own lyrics. When it came time to produce the film version of “The Sound of Music,” Hammerstein had already passed away and the movie needed two new songs.

Rodgers penned the words and music for “I Have Confidence,” a rousing show tune in which McDonald almost seems to channel the spirit of Julie Andrews.

Fugate and Borberg offer the hauntingly beautiful love duet “Something Good.”

The songs in act one reflect Hammerstein’s romanticism, sentimentality and optimism.

Hart, on the other hand, was a cynic. He often focused on bad relationships, as MacDonald demonstrates with “You Took Advantage of Me.”

When Hart wrote love songs, they were often tinged with sadness, as Fugate shows with “My Funny Valentine.”

Hart’s amusingly acerbic side comes out in Borberg’s stinging rendition of  “To Keep My Love Alive,” a ditty about a serial killer that the duo wrote way back in 1927. Its dark lyrics are something that Hammerstein could never have conceived.

Borberg and MacDonald have highly trained voices that serve them both splendidly. Fugate doesn’t have the vocal chops that these ladies possess, but he is an able actor who knows how to deliver a lyric.

The best sounds of the evening come from the group numbers. Lenhert offers pleasingly unique vocal arrangements of “Lover” and “Little Girl Blue,” well-rendered by the quartet.

Coming back to Hammerstein for the finale, the ensemble delivers a gospel version of the inspirational chestnut “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

The latest QHP show certainly exposes the ying and yang of one of our greatest melodists.

“Rodgers & Hart & Hammerstein” runs through Feb. 21 at the Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Mo. For tickets, call (816) 421-1700.

THEATER NOTES 

Nate is a kid detective who, along with his faithful dog Sludge and best friend Rosamond, solves neighborhood mysteries.

“Nate the Great” is the current production from Theatre for Young America, adapted by Pamela Sterling from the books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.

The comic mystery is suitable for kindergarten and up and meets Missouri, Kansas and national education standards.

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