It's Good to Be Back on Broadway
by Jennifer Altavilla

On the third Sunday in September, Mary Poppins landed in Times Square, minus the magical carpetbag and umbrella. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," Ashley Brown, as the practically perfect nanny, sang. "Even thought the sound of it is something quite atrocious. If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

That infectious Disney anthem, the opening act of the 16th annual Broadway on Broadway concert, set the tone for the afternoon. Two hundred actors and actresses from over 20 current Broadway shows entertained a crowd of thousands, the most eager of whom had been waiting in line since 1:00 in the morning to snag a seat near the front of the stage. Those especially ardent fans, dressed up as their favorite Broadway characters, and even the indifferent passersby were treated with an array of amusing, poignant and spine-tingling acts from shows such as The Drowsy Chaperone, Legally Blonde, and Spamalot. The only current show not on the roster was the teen cult favorite and multiple Tony-award winner, Spring Awakening.

However, only the most obsessed Broadway fan would have noticed that omission. Beth Leavel, of The Drowsy Chaperone, gave a knockout performance of her title song, "As We Stumble Along." She put as much intensity into her performance as one would expect of her in the actual show. Her facial expressions, visible to those in the back of the pack thanks to two huge TV screens, were impeccable; her grimaces, drunken smiles and piercing eyes brought her martini-loving character to life, even outside the walls of the Marquis Theater.

The cast of Legally Blonde was equally as impressive. The women - most of them in the show's trademark shocking pink shirts - danced, smiled, and sexed it up during their performance of "Bend and Snap." Although they didn't have enough room onstage to do full choreography, they made up for a lack of dancing with sassy hip shakes and hair flips.

It is true that Legally Blonde is a little campy, but that over-the-top style is what makes Broadway, Broadway. Yes, the lyrics to "Dancing Queen" are contrived, but the all the fans - not just the soccer moms - sang their hearts out when the cast of Mamma Mia performed that number. That spirit of light-heartedness and childlike energy is what made Broadway on Broadway such a unique experience. There is nothing better and more quintessentially New York than enjoying a free Broadway concert on a clear, sunny, late summer day.

The show could have done without host Lance Bass, of former N-Sync fame, who ruined what little time he had on stage by reading badly from the Teleprompter. The new "Broadway's Biggest Fan" contest was also a flop. The videos of the three finalists, which explained why they should be voted Broadway's biggest fan, provided awkward, unnecessary transitions between songs.

Bass and the contrived contest were thankfully not terrible enough to take emphasis away from the music, which is ultimately what people came to hear. A couple from California, in New York for a ten-day trip, spent eight days sightseeing, but still managed to find the energy to get in line for the concert at 9:15 AM. Standing in the front row of the back section, they danced their way through the show, sporting Little Mermaid beads and Spamalot cardboard fans like many of the other Broadway fanatics.

It is rare to see such a public, unapologetic retreat to childhood innocence, but that is what Broadway does best. A theater performance is so much more raw, so much more human, than a movie. Although the nature of the stage does not totally transport a viewer into another world as a movie does, the emotions of the actors resonate clearer on that wooden platform so close to the audience. The unlucky fans four blocks away from the stage that Sunday in September might not have been able to see the actors' faces, but they could hear their voices, feel their energy. That shared energy, that communal enthusiasm, is what enabled adults to unabashedly sing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." Even if that youthful spirit only lasts an hour or two, a Broadway musical has done its job.