Were You There?
February 14, 2003
Broadway Romance Benefit Concert featuring Robert Evan & Alice Ripley with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra

The Broadway Romance Concert is over! The performance was awesome and beyond words from me, a mere human... but I am going to try to give you a sense of the magic and majesty.

Birmingham was ready for this!

The program was just what the title said... A Broadway Romance, in music. There was some Cole Porter, some Rogers and Hammerstein, and of course, three of what have become known as Rob's "signature" songs - This Is The Moment, Bring Him Home, and Anthem. There were some songs we rarely, if ever, have heard him sing, and then there were the duets with Alice. Rob did his better-than-able-to-describe best on O, What a Beautiful Morning, Being Alive, Northbound Train, and Into the Fire (with a great choir). What more superlatives can I find for Moment, Anthem, and Bring Him Home? Some people might be "Sleepless in Seattle" ... I was speechless in B'ham! The house was silent, and then the roar of applause that was so richly deserved filled the huge room! What a glorious response to a magnificent set of songs.The duets were great, as if they had done them forever - You're the Top, People Will Say We're in Love, and Love Changes Everything were treated to the magic of two well-blending voices.

Tom and Jane Lazenby were warm, tireless, gracious, and friendly. They had the dream and they did everything to make Rob and Alice feel wanted (and ME, too).

I know it was not close enough for most to attend from up here, but you surely did miss a great evening!

Oh, by the way... I enjoyed it hugely, could you tell?

Linda Russak