It’s a long way from a Broadway stage to St. Timothy Catholic Church, but one “Phantom of the Opera” star felt right at home there on Friday.
“Sit down, relax and pull up a pew,” cracked Grant Norman, who played the Phantom in New York, London and on a national tour. Norman along with fellow Broadway performers Christina Sivrich and Brian Minyard headlined “The Best of Broadway” benefit.
Maestro Bill Doherty produced the concert and accompanied the singers on piano. Proceeds went to the Oscar Feliu Scholarship Program.
“I love coming back to The Villages because the audiences are so warm and welcoming,” Norman said after the concert. “This is a beautiful church and the acoustics are great. Singers love singing in what we call a live space — there is a lot of reverberation and the sound is excellent.”
Norman delivered a breathtaking performance on “Music of the Night,” a trademark song from “The Phantom.” He sang it with a pained, slow delivery that gradually evolved into a powerful burst of heartache. He earned a long and loud standing ovation from those in the church.
“That song always gets to me, and it’s always a thrill to sing it,” said Norman, who played the Phantom in the mid-1990s. “It’s such a brilliant piece of musical theatre and one of the greatest songs ever written. I think the Phantom is the most powerful male role ever written in musical theater.”
Norman stresses that he doesn’t just sing “Music of the Night” but feels it — inside and out. During the performance, his hands moved with an aching grace and seemed to display the power and pain of the music.
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“A lot of musical theater has to be about character,” Norman said. “You don’t just sing; you act and it affects your physical body movements. That’s how you bring it to life.”
Norman did just that and also gave a somber, but emotionally charged version of “Sunrise, Sunset” from “Fiddler On the Roof.”
“My daughter (Sophie) just turned seven about a week ago, so this song has meaning for me,” said Norman, who lives in Orlando with his wife, Dawn. “You know, what they say is true: when you have children and watch them grow, time goes so fast.”
Christina Sivrich was a late substitution for the concert. The youthful singer has been working in New York for about a decade and has appeared on Broadway in “Grease” and “The Wedding Singer.”
She possesses an engaging, pixie-like stage presence and represented a more contemporary Broadway style singing “Popular” from “Wicked.” She also performed, “Fine Fine Line” from “Avenue Q” and “Someday” from “The Wedding Singer.”
“I found out late that I was going to be here but it was so much fun going out there and singing these songs,” said Sivrich, who will appear in “Avenue Q” at Orlando’s Mad Cow Theater, starting June 3.
Sivrich is part of the new breed of Broadway performer. “I think there is a place for the new shows but we can’t forget the classics,” she said after the concert. “When I came to New York in 2004, things were changing and so were the musicals.”
Sivrich, who comes from Pittsburgh, Pa., may be a part of that change but admits two of her personal favorites are “Hello Dolly” and “West Side Story.”
“You have to keep pace with the times but there will always be revivals,” she said.
One thing that hasn’t changed the formula for a young performer making it on Broadway.
“You have to have faith in yourself and believe in yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you,” Sivrich said.
Brian Minyard was supposed to appear with his wife, Melissa, but she was unable to make it. He picked up the pace with a rousing version of “Some Enchanted Evening.” Minyard also displayed impressive range on “The Impossible Dream”
Doherty, as usual, was the musical glue that held everything together. “It’s wonderful to bring this kind of talent here for such a worthy cause,” he said.
“None of this would have happened today without Maestro Bill,” said Norman, who started working with Doherty in the 1980s. “Bill taught me so much about opera,” he added. “He opened up a new world of music to me, and I’ll never forget him.”
All three singers combined for the closing number, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel.” The song took on a spiritual reverence in the church setting as Norman, Sivrich and Minyard made an ideal three-piece choir.
“I always loved this song,” Norman said. “I always remember Jerry Lewis singing it at the end of his telethons. It meant a lot to me then, and it means a lot to me now.”
