By Danielle Miceli
Johnny Hager’s new show “The Way I See It,” directed by Jeff Lettiere, played its first performance at Don’t Tell Mama on Friday, September 21st to a packed house. Hager is a youthful 31-year old man who wore slick jeans, a tailored shirt, and a skinny blue tie to present many well-loved Broadway melodies with some rock and opera thrown in for fun (and to show off his gorgeous voice). His youthful energy was apparent throughout ensuring that his performance was not stiff or staid.
This divo opened the evening with the “Habenera” from Bizet’s opera, Carmen. It showed off his lilting voice and sexy vibrato. He performed the piece in English first and then in French. He gave it a modern twist by belting some parts with a sound that was reminiscent of Alan Cumming. With Arri Simon at the piano, Hager continued to show off his sweet tenor voice with Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me.” It was more than evident that Hager had some operatic training. His high notes are glorious. A trio performed early on in the show with “Old Fashioned Wedding” from Annie Get Your Gun. Baritone Arri Simon and tenor Ransom Bruce made up the trio with Hager. Hager joked that “there is a lot of pressure on a 31-year-old gay guy to get married!” The audience seemed to enjoy this gay male presentation of the classic musical theater ditty. There was much laughter and applause. One note for Hager is that he could benefit from a little more volume at times and also could project and enunciate more on certain phrases. His part got lost ever so slightly while performing in the trio.
Hager’s edgy, hipster look made “A Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific very entertaining as did his very listener-friendly voice. I could listen to him sing for hours. Some songs, Hager sang with a straight face which really helped the audience focus on the beauty of his sound. However, he is a formidable actor and knew how to express the meaning of the lyrics in all of the numbers presented. It is worth to note also that he did not over-act. With his gender-bending “I Hate Men,” Hager got a strongly positive reaction from the mostly male-populated audience.
His “By the River,” from December Songs by Maury Yeston, was poignant with pianist Arri Simon singing with him. The two created beautiful harmonies with very emotional and heartfelt performances. This piece segued into the song “Passenger Seat” from the rock group, Death Cab for Cutie. “Passenger Seat” confirmed that Hager can do pop, Broadway, and opera effortlessly. He has a good command of different genres. This performance gave pianist Arri Simon another chance to show off his smoky baritone with harmonies reminding the audience of the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel. One of the highlights of the show was “Sunday” from Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. Hager had three singers join him onstage in addition to Simon’s voice at the piano. These singers were Ransom Bruce, bass Nathan Norrington, and baritone Dan Egan. The combination of voices worked very well. This little powerhouse closed his show with an Italian art song by Giacomo Puccini called “Sogno D’Or.” It was like a soothing lullaby and gave a smooth finish to the show. Other numbers in the show were “I’ll Be There” from Pirate Queen, “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” “Maybe This Time,””Unusual Way,” and “I Don’t Remember Christmas.” All in all, Hager’s presentation was very effective. His cool look and lovely and versatile voice make this show a winner.
Posted by Sandi Durell
on September 25, 2012. Filed under Cabaret,Cabaret and Interviews - Sandi Durell,COLUMNS,ENTERTAIMENT.
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