Producer Christopher Pazdernik celebrated his birthday in partnership with A Season of Concern and presented the 10th annual Belting for Life concert to the packed nightspot SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, on May 19.
The show, which has become a yearly anticipated event gathered theater fans and music lovers to raise funds for AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) and to present a stunning show with many of Chicago’s top divas in performance. This time out songs from recent and classic theatrical shows, television shows and movies mixed in with a touch of pop and a current of ribald humor (notably from host Neala Barron) to augment what can only be called a big gorgeous epic mess.
The night also included a raffle, culminating with AFC CEO John Peller being presented with an oversized check. By the end of the evening close to $6,000 had been raised for the foundation.
The show got off to a thunderous start as Neala Barron performed a rousing “Better” from the stage show Kimberly Akimbo and was promptly joined by Molly Kral, Jacquelyne Jones and Amanda Petersen for a round robin version of “I Want it All” from Baby. Rachel Guth performed a humorously neurotic “Dear Miss Streisand” (from the show Rachael Lily Rosenbloom) which had the audience giggling, followed by a stripped down “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story by Grace Bobber.
Nancy Voigts reading of Camelot‘s “The Simple Joys Of Maidenhood” was enlivened and gently sent up with her lightly melodramatic reading, while Nathe Rowbotham’s dramatic take on Hair‘s “Easy to be Hard” brought the show into torch territory.
Emma Samuelson’s reading of “Pulled” from The Addams Family: The Musical was light and bouncy while Mia Nevarez’s take on “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid was wistful and wise. Last year’s award winning Shucked was represented here by Keely Vasquez’ patient reading of “Maybe Love” while Marta Bady took that show’s “Independently Owned” into ribald territory.
After the intermission Satya Chavez threw the show into a joyful tizzy with a reworked version of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” which smoothly mixed in the Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart’s standard “Blue Moon,” The Beatles’s “Blackbird,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Michael Jackson’s “Black and White.” After Chavez received a standing ovation, Barron cracked, “Holy shit…that was a lot of colors…”
Amanda Petersen and Larissa Olsen were up next with a melody of songs from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The tribute to Andrew Loyd Weber continued with Dani Pike taking on the title song to “Tell Me on a Sunday” and a punked out Molly Callinan (dressed in black shorts, tank top, and boots) delivered a scathing “Heaven on their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar.
Molly Kral soothed ears and hearts with a gentle reading of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misarables while Bethany Thomas’s furious take on “Valjean’s Soliloquy” from the same source was confrontational, fierce and thunderous. Maya Rowe had a lot of fun with “I’m Afraid” by Sara Barelles, while Lydia Burke’s reading of “Don’t Forget Me” from the television show SMASH was emotional and compelling.
Tafadzwa Diener’s take on A New Brain’s “Change” was alternately thunderous and insightful setting up Barron’s turn in front of the band with a compelling “Infinite Joy” from the recently deceased William Finn. Angela Ingersoll brought the curtain down with an electric reading of “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles which had the audience on its feet. The night concluded with the entire cast mounting the stage for a joyful “Dreamgirl” from Dreamgirl.
Raffle with Neala Barron and Christopher Pazdernik. Image by Vern Hester