They
are Broadway stars, but they have serious pop culture cred. Laura Osnes won a network
reality show competition to land the leading role in the most recent Broadway
revival of Grease. Santino Fontana
gave voice to the prince in a little animated movie called Frozen. They also shared the stage together in the recent Broadway
production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,
so they are clearly comfortable performing together. Given their crossover
appeal, they are quite the logical choice to kick off the second season of American Songbook at NJPAC this coming
Wednesday on NJTV.
For
Osnes and Fontana’s concert, everything comes in twos. Throughout their set,
they pair one classic with one relatively contemporary thematically related
Broadway duet. Not surprisingly, the newer material will be less familiar than
the old standards, but those turn out to be some of the set’s best surprises.
While they attack a pseudo-novelty number like Irving Berlin’s “Anything You
Can Do” with admirable gusto, an unheralded tune like the Off-Broadway ringer “First
Date/Last Night” really sneaks up on the audience. They also maintain a sense
of the piece’s theatricality in way that is appropriate to the cabaret-like nature
of the concert.
Naturally,
there are a few selections from Cinderella,
including a lovely rendition of “Ten Minutes Ago.” It is odd to think of a Sondheim
song as popular crossover selection, but with the Into the Woods movie now in theaters, many more viewers will now be
familiar with “It Takes Two.” Frankly, it is a very Sondheim song with some
really awkward initial lyrics, but they stick with it and land it like champs.
Arguably,
there is something old school about Osnes and Fontana. They can patter and rib
each other in between tunes, launching into the next number perfectly on cue.
You have to wonder how many performers coming up could handle that kind of
cabaret-revue format. They also introduce the musicians onscreen (rhythm
section, guitar, and two strings), which seems like the obvious, classy thing
to do, but might have easily been cut by an overly time sensitive producer.
(Photos:
Daniel Cardenas/NJTV)