Composer Marty Silvestri and lyricist Joel Higgins have been writing songs for television, movies, Off-Broadway, West End, and Regional Theater productions for over five decades.
Lucky for us, cabaret star Mark Nadler sifted through their entire body of work to create, direct, and offer musical arrangements of their glorious songs. The result is a 90-minute, captivating and marvelous cabaret entitled, The Beat of a Wandering Heart, currently running through Saturday evening at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.
Broadway stalwarts Christine Andreas, George Dvorsky, and James Harkness star alongside newcomer Casey Borghesi to deliver a heartfelt night of songs that chart the highs and lows the human experience-with love being the common denominator.
Over 20 songs are performed which seems like a long night, but this quartet is so exquisite one wishes that the experience would last longer.
Silvestri and Higgins are masters of melody from various genres. In the country twinged, “Continental Sunday” Dvorsky and Andreas sing about escaping together to New Orleans. Later, Harkness and Borghesi describe the thrilling uncertainty of life’s roulette wheel in “Let it Spin”.
Dvorsky brings Jimmy Buffett inspired flavor to “A World Away” about reaching for the unattainable. Although there is no steel drum in the band, conductor Harry Collins conjures the essence of them on the piano.
Theater lovers are probably familiar with Andreas, Dvorsky, and Harkness and know them to be grounded performers, but Borghesi is a revelation. She lets loose in the upbeat feminist themed, “Branded a Tramp”. She currently has no Broadway credits to her name, but casting directors would be wise to file her resume and remember her when looking for a fresh face and fabulous voice.
Harkness gives himself and the cast some simple but effective choreography which further adds to the night’s effortless flow.
The title song, written exclusively for this show infuses reggae flair and is reprised throughout in various contexts-each time equally as compelling.
Wandering Heart is reminiscent of Richard Maltby and David Shire’s Closer Than Ever, a hit musical revue that played New York in the early nineties and has become a favorite among theater aficionados. One only hopes that Wandering Heart can find similar success. The show and this impeccable cast are too good to miss.
The Beat of A Wandering Heart plays at the Laurie Beechman Theater 407 West 42nd Street NYC through Saturday November 15th. For tickets and information, click here.