Going Bacharach! The Songs of an Icon” thru May 17th

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“What the World Needs now is Burt Bacharach!” - Review By: Paul Lisnek

****/4

“What the World Needs now is Burt Bacharach!”

Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon is the kind of must-see revue that reminds you how forever durable a great pop song can be when it is placed in the hands of performers who understand both the music’s structure and its emotional impact. It’s almost obligatory to note that even if you think you do not know of Burt Bacharach, you most assuredly do! Nearly every song will be familiar leading some audience recognition and a nod of “oh, I didn’t know he wrote that one!” But the real pleasure comes from hearing how these performers give the catalogue a renewed life.

This production is a showcase of the elegant, often surprising and sometimes heartbreaking catalog of the masterful Burt Bacharach. The show is actually less of a tribute concert, and more a carefully shaped evening of interpretation, showcasing its talent: amazing musician and conductor Adrian Galante, and singers Hilary Kole, Ta-Tynisa Wilson and John Pagano (who has the honor of having been a vocalist with the master himself for 26 years; he knew Burt Bacharach and that adds something special to the evening. We get story, context, music structure explained and in short, an evening of some of the best of music performed with a renewed sense of power and spark.

What the production captures best is Bacharach’s range. His songs can seem almost effortless on the surface, but don’t be fooled; they are full of rhythmic shifts, melodic surprises, and emotional pivots, all within the same song. This production gets that the pleasure of an evening of Bacharach lies in hearing those details emerge or pointed out in performance. Rather than treating the catalogue as museum pieces, the cast gets their popularity today; they lean into the songs’ light wit, vulnerability, and frequent sophistication, allowing them to feel current rather than nostalgic. And so we watch an audience who sways with most songs, smiles plastered on their faces and outbursts of applause that show…ah yes, we remember it all well!

Adrian Galante is the show’s musical anchor, and his role matters more than simple accompaniment. His piano and clarinet give the evening shape, momentum, and structure. His presence at the center of the ensemble helps the revue feel cohesive and not a walk through the decades. He supports the singers while also giving Bacharach’s arrangements the clarity they need, which is crucial in music that can lose its bite if it is made too smooth. The result is an evening that feels polished and never bland. Credit must also go to director David Zippel (“City of Angels,” and many others) who knows how to handle anything from jazz, to pop to rock and everything in between. Clearly, Zippel’s touch is incorporated with respect by Galante and the combination works perfectly.

Hilary Kole is especially effective in material that benefits from restraint and tonal control, bringing a cool, jazz-inflected poise that is tailormade for Bacharach’s tunes. John Pagano’s history with Burt Bacharach helps to authenticate the production overall. He is a grounded presence and offers a jazzy sense of ease. Ta-Tynisa Wilson supplies some of the production’s most stirring moments, singing with a richness and directness that turn familiar numbers (many lead us to recall the legendary Dionne Warwick who first recorded many of them) into strong declarations of the universal music catalogue.

Bacharach’s songs work so well because they can display elegance and ache simultaneously, and this cast, thru Zippel and Galante’s guidance, understand the tension. One playful moment may glide into something emotionally raw that drives the progression of the songs 

As a theater piece, Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon succeeds because it knows tribute alone is not enough. Musical history needs context and interpretation, and this production has both in abundance. Galante, Kole, Pagano, and Wilson do not simply honor Bacharach’s legacy; they inhabit it, finding freshness in beloved songs and letting the unique and often ahead-of-its-time style of the writing come through with fresh life. This is a show that has….the look of love…. And what the world needs now is indeed….Love (and yes, Bacharach wrote that one too).

Playing thru May 17th; Tickets purchased at: www.GoingBacharach.com