With all the singers accused of relying on backing tracks as of late, it’s good to know Barry Manilow is not one of them. Five decades after the release of his debut self-titled album, Manilow’s voice is in fine form. He still sings “Could It Be Magic” from Barry Manilow, although he reserves the right to perform it with a disco arrangement, and gives his all during performances that keep faithful Fanilows coming to see him at his long-running Las Vegas residency. (This year, he’s on track to break Elvis Presley’s record for performances in the Westgate’s International Theater.)
If any modern-day entertainer is worthy of the title of “Mr. Showmanship” in 2023, it’s Manilow. He returned to Las Vegas this month after being honored with a May 1 tribute show at Carnegie Hall during the New York Pops’ 40th Birthday Gala, where friends such as Dionne Warwick and Charo were in attendance. He’ll return to the Big Apple later this month for a five-date concert series at Radio City Music Hall.
In even bigger Manilow-in-Manhattan news, his musical Harmony is set to begin previews at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre in October. Co-created with lyricist/librettist Bruce Sussman with Tony Award-winner Warren Carlyle on board as director and choreographer, Harmony had a sold-out run last spring at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. The story of six singers who started out in Berlin’s subways of the 1920s and became stars as the Comedian Harmonists won a Drama Desk Award and received nearly a dozen nominations from other organizations.
So it’s a busy year for Manilow, full of highs that will undoubtedly add even more effervescence to his upbeat, high-energy residency shows. Manilow plays career-spanning sets that feature hits co-written by him (“Even Now,” “It’s a Miracle”) as well as covers he made famous (“Mandy,” “I Write the Songs”). The inarguable highlight is “Copacabana,” though, with Manilow pulling out all the stops for a part of the show that is as over-the-top as any Fanilow can imagine.
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