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Stage duo will accompany Youngstown Symphony Orchestra Broadway Valentine
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Broadway musicals have looked at love from just about every angle. So when putting together a Valentine’s Day pops concert, the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, led by Randall Craig Fleischer, knew where to look.
On Saturday, the YSO will be accompanied by vocalists Melissa Errico and Stephen Buntrock, each a Broadway veteran with a long resume. The program includes well over a dozen songs from musicals ranging from “Guys and Dolls” to “Les Miserables.”
It will mark the first time Errico and Buntrock have done such a show, but the two have plenty of chemistry from working together. Close friends for many years, the two starred opposite each other as the romantic leads in “Finian’s Rainbow” several years ago on Broadway and in a revival.
In his review of “Finian’s Rainbow,” Malcolm Johnson of The Hartford Courant said, “Errico’s pure, chiming soprano voice and Buntrock’s rugged, tenor voice float their songs on wings.”
Errico also has starred as Cosette in “Les Miserables” and Eliza Doolittle in the revival of “My Fair Lady.” She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress for her work in “Amour.”
Buntrock has appeared on Broadway in the revival of “A Little Night Music,” as well as “Oklahoma!,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Grease.”
For Errico, Saturday’s concert will be her second trip to Youngstown. She and two others sang with the YSO in a 2009 concert that featured Broadway standards.
In a phone interview this week, Errico said she can’t wait to return to Powers Auditorium.
“I love this program,” she said. “Some great songs come out of those old musicals, and it’s not just all the positive sides of love. It has a Broadway spin on it.”
Errico enjoys singing in front of a full symphony orchestra, with its heightened expectations and big audience. “And I’m a sucker for a fancy dress,” she said.
The audience, she said, should expect a good time.
“These concerts are fun,” said Errico. “You never know what the repertoire will be, and often you get to sing songs from shows you haven’t been in and try on Broadway roles you haven’t played. That’s part of the fun.”
Getting a chance to team up with Buntrock again will be extra special.
“It’s always a surprise who you’ll be asked to sing with,” said Errico. “I’ve been blessed to travel with some amazingly brilliant and talented leading men, and I’m thrilled this time it’s my old friend and one of my favorite co-stars.
“He’s married to someone else. I’m married to someone else. But for one night in Youngstown, we’ll be Valentines.”
Errico and her husband — Patrick McEnroe, brother of tennis great John McEnroe — have three children. Still, she juggles a career that includes the Broadway stage, concert hall vocalist and recording artist, and television actress.
She has a close working relationship with film and pop composer Michel Legrand, with whom she collaborated on “Legrand Affair,” her third CD. Produced by Phil Ramone, the 2011 album drew rave reviews.
Errico also will be seen in “The Knick,” a high-end drama series that will debut in the fall on Cinemax.
“The Knick” is directed by Steven Soderbergh, who is making his TV series debut.
A period piece, it is set in turn-of-the-century New York and focuses on the Knickerbocker Hospital.
Errico plays the wife of the chief surgeon.