There's no mistaking the obvious.
Jenn Colella possesses a singing voice that is lush, powerful, lovely, inspired and completely engaging.
Not only is she a pleasure to listen to, but the experience of watching her connect to the material she has chosen to sing produces a ripple effect of emotion, abandonment and illumination like no other.
She's smooth.
She's strong.
She's rich.
She's versatile.
She's creative.
She can to it all.
Pop, rock, jazz, ballad, show tune, showstopper and pretty much anything else in between.
Onstage for Legacy Theatre's acclaimed, popular "Sunday Broadway Concert Series," Colella shoots straight from the hip, knows how to get the ball rolling and let's it be known, through song and melody, that this "silly little lesbian" with "a belt voice" can shift gears in a heartbeat, run with the tide, let a lyric linger and keep you on the edge of your seat happily entertained by the gift of music she so proudly and intuitively conveys.
Here, she does just that - and so much more - with the stamina, grit and perseverance of a seasoned concert performer who not only loves what she does, but more importantly, takes a moment or two to entertain and enthrall her audience with songs that they already know or may not have known before.
As with previous concerts at Legacy Theatre, the staging is simple: a piano, a microphone, a stool, a table, a glass of water, mood lighting, great acoustics and a closeness between performer and audience that is the perfect setting for Colella's polished, distinct voice.
At the piano, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning musical director John McDaniel brings expansive warmth and vigor to the proceedings, the result, of which is a fruitful collaboration between performer and accompanist.
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Colella made her Broadway debut in the 2003 production of "Urban Cowboy," for which she received an Outer Critic's Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Other Broadway credits include "High Fidelity," "Chaplin: The Musical" and the 2014 production of "If/Then," which starred Inina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, LaChanze and James Snyder.
In 2017, she returned to Broadway to star in "Come from Away," the award-winning musical based on the real-life stories and events that took place on September 11, 2001, when 38 planes, carrying 7,000 passengers were ordered to land at Gander International Airport in the Newfoundland town of Gander following the terrorist attacks that took place in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
For her portrayal of American Airlines aircraft pilot Beverley Bass, Colella won the Drama Desk and Outer Critic's Circle award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. She also received a Tony Award nomination in the same category.
For her Legacy Theatre concert engagement, Colella's setlist - an eclectic, soulful and cheer-roaring mix of Broadway showtunes, ballads, personal favorites and treasured, little-known songs - is lovingly assembled with that special magic, sparkle and musicality that makes each and every one of her choices come to fruition with channeled engagement, style and relaxed, in-the-moment exploration.
There are 12 in all, every one of them important to her concert story, its evolution, its remembrance and its laidback, personal conviction.
"Everybody Says Don't"
"Hopalong Heartbreak"
"Times Like This"
"Me and the Sky"
"I Could Have Danced All Night"
"If You Leave Me"
"When It All Falls Down"
"Getting My Shit Together"
"Something to Talk About"
"Take My Breath Away"
"Don't Rain on My Parade"
"Me and Bobby McGee"
The songs themselves also remind fans (once again) why they love Colella on stage, why they bought a ticket and why seeing her LIVE on concert is ever so special.
Opening the "Sunday Broadway Concert Series" with "Everybody Says Don't," the cult favorite Stephen Sondheim show tune from his ill-fated 1964 Broadway musical "Anyone Can Whistle," Colella addresses this flip, sardonic take on how to consider, make and address life's choices with brilliantly crafted immediacy and arrangement, playfully negotiating the beats, rhythms and words the composer set forth in his original composition. It's a fabulous, forthright turn that sends Colella on a riveting musical journey of discovery, beauty, arrangement and signature bravura.
"Me and the Sky" from "Come from Away" finds the actress/singer back in Gander as Beverley Bass recalling how she found emotional fulfillment by overcoming several obstacles to eventually become the first female pilot and captain of an American Airlines commercial plane. Here, her interpretive specificity - dramatic, glowing, poignant - is both personal and steady, giving the song itself the respect, privilege and reverence it deserves.
Lerner and Loewe's "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the 1956 Broadway production of "My Fair Lady" finds Colella standing center stage singing joyfully about the excitement of an impromptu ballroom dance with her tutor. It's an exhilarating turn that for concert staging, is jazzed up nice and fizzy to match Colella's song style. The sex of the tutor is also changed from male to female which works splendidly and brings an LGBTQ quality to the song and its recurring enchantment.
"Something to Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt brings Colella right into the audience wildly flirting with her adoring crowd, all of whom willingly succumb to her breezy charm and energized twang and swagger. Legacy Theatre's Colin Sheehan, Community Arts Coordinator and Producer of the Broadway Spotlight Series, chimes in with a hand mike for a playful duet with the singer, fueled by "spot on" harmony, charisma and improvisational magic that thrusts this number into orbit with touchstone roar and double-header giveaway.
When the singing stops, Colella, all smiles and spotlight ready to engage with the audience, cuts loose to share recollections and important moments from her life including her October 2022 marriage to partner Mo Mullen; the ups and downs of trying to break into the business; the gratification that comes from getting your first break on Broadway; the pressure of auditioning even when things go completely wrong; the memory of being part of Broadway's "Come From Away;" living in Brooklyn; working with and bonding with award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown; seeing "The Phantom of the Opera" as a teenager for the very first time on the New York stage; and the excitement of having your very own song written especially for you in a Broadway show.
Candid, natural and completely engaging, Colella's small talk also included wonderful tidbits about visiting Branford for the very first time and her immediate attraction to both the Legacy Theatre ("I have to come back") and the Thimble Islands ("I'm ready to explore. Let's do it after the show.")
When you think about, who wouldn't want to tour the Thimble Islands with the charming, personable and effervescent Colella?
Colella ends her "Sunday Broadway Concert Series" engagement with "Don't Rain on My Parade" from "Funny Girl" followed by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee," made famous by the late Janis Joplin.
Both songs - great choices to close and encore her performance - not only portray her gift for bold, brave musicality and directness, but her versatility, tilt, kinship and template as a concert performer.
The voice is hers.
Full, colorful, soaring, charming.
The pleasure is ours.
Quality, thrill and spill to the fullest.
All of the selected songs not only complement her range but allow her to change mood, style and opportunity in a given moment.
It's a large repertoire - belts, sweetness, warmth, drama, projection - matched and complemented with stellar, affecting accompaniment by McDaniel, who, like Colella, works intuitively to create an intimate, Broadway backdrop that can brighten any Sunday afternoon.
website: legacytheatrect.org
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