March 30, 2009 - The Long Center’s First Anniversary Gala Concert
It was certainly
worth the wait. At Thursday night’s black tie event
to celebrate the first anniversary of The Long Center,
the dinner started later than planned. Which meant the
concert itself was held up for about 20
minutes.
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But the weather was
beautiful, the crowd was giddy, and the show was another
artistic achievement for the now-iconic performing arts center.
Special guests Marvin
Hamlisch and Linda Eder were both enchanting, backed by members
of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Channeling a seasoned
Borscht Belt comic, Hamlisch delivered well-rehearsed
one-liners mixed with spur-of-the-moment jokes. His
“happy birthday” shtick - where he played the
traditional song as if he were different famous
composers - was a big hit with the
symphony-educated crowd, who laughed and applauded the thematic
musical humor.
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Broadway and concert
star Linda Eder looked and sounded radiant, performing a set of
theatre and American standards. With musical phrasing
that honored Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, her selection
of songs received more than one well-deserved standing ovation.
And her rendition of “Man of La Mancha” - one
of the whole reasons I wanted to see her perform at the event -
was just as spectacular in-person as on her recordings.
But the real star of
the night was The Long Center itself. The sound quality
of the building is unbelievable; you can easily hear every note
from every instrument on the stage (and every cough from the
audience - even from the balconies). And combining that
acoustic perfection with the performers’ talents, the
first anniversary concert became magical.
As the audience
spilled onto the City Terrance, cabaret star Sharon Montgomery
sang while downtown sparkled. And with birthday cupcakes
and glasses of champagne in hand, the crowd lingered to chat
with friends and simply enjoy the view.