Musical theatre is Errico’s passion, which is partly why her 90-minute cabaret style show at the Barns at Wolf Trap is titled, “A Passion for Broadway”. The cabaret featured a wide range of songs, but the focus was Sondheim. Errico starred in last spring’s off-Broadway revival of the Sondheim-James Lapine musical “Passion”. Sadly, she was abruptly released from the show based on vocal trouble, due to a blood vessel in her throat. Luckily, through surgery and strict vocal rest (100 days without speaking) she has triumphantly returned to the stage.

The evening was a delightful pairing of singing and personality driven tidbits and anecdotes. As the night began with, “Somewhere” from West Side Story, I was a bit concerned with her voice, but as the night went on, she got stronger and stronger. Her diction never faltered and while I’m personally not a huge Sondheim fan, the song choices were well-received by all in attendance. There is a little more vibrato than there used to be, but it added depth to her renditions. Not everything was Sondheim. There was a fantastic version of, “How Are Things In Glocca Morra?” which was my favorite song of the night. It’s a great choice for her.

Musical Director, John Otto, who has a fame all of his own (he was Rosemary Clooney’s Musical Director) lead the other two musicians, flawlessly and followed Errico, brilliantly.

Unlike Sutton Foster, whom I saw a few weeks ago, Errico’s style is more acting out the song with her whole body. Foster’s approach is emoting from just her face and not moving much. I like the animated spirit that Errico exhibited, even when she flung a hair pin stage left.

Aside from stage time, Errico (who has also appeared in small roles on television and in film) will appear in a recurring role on Steven Soderbergh and Clive Owen’s series, “The Knick” which will debut on Cinemax, in February. She is also a founding member and facilitator of the Bowery Babes moms group. Bowery Babes is a New York based non-profit, dedicated to supporting women through pregnancy and birth and the early years of motherhood. They also strive to preserve downtown Manhattan as a place to raise a family and do many charitable acts to support the community. Their relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy ripped through New York were remarkable. For more information, check out www.bowerybabes.com

Overall show: A, The night was charming and nice way to kick off a cozy holiday season.
Venue: A+, The Barns at Wolf Trap is an intimate, exquisite space. This type of show really lends itself to the atmosphere. Parking a breeze.

For more info. on Melissa Errico, go to www.melissaerrico.com
For the rest of the season at The Barnes, check out www.wolftrap.org/Barns

About The Author

Denise A.

Theatre/Concert Reviewer

A member of the Actors’ Center since 2000, she is a professionally trained actor, singer and dancer, she has graced stages all over the country with various musicals and plays, receiving many awards and accolades. She was an award-nominated host for Eclipse Magazine TV and has also been seen on such shows as The Mickey Mouse Club, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and Ally McBeal. She is a professional magician’s assistant, who has worked with Carnegie and Bradley Fields. Denise has also done her share behind the scenes with many projects. Aside from choreography, she’s been doing costuming and makeup (award winning) for more than a decade. She has been a writer since middle school, mostly short stories and poetry. As English was a favorite subject always, she easily took to journalism courses in high school, followed by college. Her writing has spanned many different markets. In recent years, she has been co-authoring an original musical that she hopes gets to see the light of day 🙂

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