Product Description

Julie Andrews returns to host the second installment of the "My Favorite Broadway" series. "My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs" is a magical one-night-only concert extravaganza featuring Broadway's brightest stars. Celebrated performances from many of the most beloved musicals ever including "Guys and Dolls," "Drat, the Cat," "Camelot," "Sweet Charity," "My Fair Lady" and more. Songs: Love Is Sweeping the Country/ Till There Was You/ Lover/ So in Love (Adam Pascal, Brent Spiner, Rebecca Luker, Peter Gallagher & Marin Mazzie), Lullaby of Broadway (Tom Wopat & Dancers), Sue Me (Nathan Lane & Doo Wop Trio), He Touched Me (Heather Headley), Operatic Intro/ Standing on the Corner/ Let the Good Times Roll (Three Mo' Tenors), Gigi (Ron Raines), Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Jeffrey Denman & Joan Hess), When I Fall in Love (Marin Mazzie), English Teacher/ Rosie (Chita Rivera & Brent Spiner), If Ever I Would Leave You (Robert Goulet), Come Rain or Come Shine/ I Don't Know How to Love Him/ What Kind of Fool Am I? (Linda Eder), Music of the Night (Michael Crawford), Seasons of Love (Adam Pascal & Broadway Inspirational Voices), Elaborate Lives (Adam Pascal & Heather Headley), Every Single Day (Barry Manilow), Not a Day Goes By/ Too Late Now/ Sometimes a Day Goes By (Rebecca Luker, Peter Gallagher & Marin Mazzie), I'm a Brass Band (Bebe Neuwirth), This Nearly Was Mine (Robert Goulet), Brush Up Your Shakespeare (Michael McCormick & Michael Mulheren), How Lucky Can You Get (Chita Rivera), I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face/ The Rain in Spain (Michael Crawford & Julie Andrews).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31012 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-03-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, Compilation, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
This October 2000 follow-up to 1998's My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies allows the gentlemen in, but that's not always an advantage. Sure, Michael Crawford developed a great following as the Phantom and Nathan Lane is a comedian nonpareil, but Tom Wopat, Brent Spiner, Peter Gallagher, Adam Pascal, and Ron Raines, while all fine performers with good resumés, simply can't match the marquee power of the original's Liza Minnelli, Audra McDonald, Jennifer Holliday, Nell Carter, and many others. And even when old vets appear, Robert Goulet seems closer to Las Vegas than Lancelot, and Barry Manilow (mostly making his name as a composer these days) looks pretty awkward. That said, this is still an enjoyable live show from New York's City Center (also available on CD). Among the ladies returning, Rebecca Luker and Marin Mazzie shine in songs from the revivals they star in, and super diva Linda Eder raises the roof with a three-song medley. And there are other additions to the roster, one legend, Chita Rivera (reprising her "English Teacher" from Bye Bye Birdie), and one up-and-comer, Heather Headley (sharing her "Elaborate Lives" duet with Aida costar Pascal).

But the first 100 minutes is all prologue, anyway. The real star is the host, Julie Andrews, who also hosted the original show and conspicuously did not sing in it, following her infamous, lawsuit-laden vocal-cord surgery that effectively ended her music career. Throughout the evening she teases the audience, reciting lyrics and making references to My Fair Lady. So when Crawford begins the finale, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," and Andrews enters, the audience holds its breath: Will she or won't she? It's an electric moment, and perfect theater. --David Horiuchi