Collaborations can produce tremendous results and the one between Nathan Gunn, his wife Julie Jordan Gunn and Jam Orchestra counts as a particularly splendid example. Nathan Gunn & Friends: Beloved Broadway, a tribute to some of the finest music produced on Broadway, had nestled within it an ulterior agenda Saturday night.  Along with a maelstrom of delightful music, it provided an ideal platform for displaying the highly impressive talent being nurtured and developed at Lyric Theater @ Illinois (LTI).  A first of its kind program on the University of Illinois’ Champaign campus, LTI provides its students with a comprehensive foundation of “sung theatre”.  Created by Mr. and Mrs. Gunn nearly a decade ago, the program entrenches a thorough understanding and proficiency in “traditional European opera, American Musical Theatre and new, contemporary works”.  

Each an alumnus of U of I, both Nathan and Julie Gunn have achieved exemplary success in their musical careers.  Opera lovers well know why the Opera Wire has called Mr. Gunn one of the great baritones of our time and Mrs. Gunn has enjoyed luminous success as a pianist and musical director.  Their rich experience in the many facets of musical performance would be an invaluable asset in any learning environment.  Together they worked with Aaron Kaplan of the Chicago based ensemble, Jam Orchestra, to bring a world class tableau of music and song to the community.  In this case, Evanston’s Nichols Concert Hall on a clear and frigid January evening.  

A feast of plenty, the program concentrated on seven Broadway shows well suited for orchestration.  Works were also selected on how well they displayed daring and musical innovation at the time they were produced. Some of the selections like Rogers and Hammerstein’s “If I Loved You” from Carousel and “Maria” from West Side Story are imminently well known.  Others like “Lily’s Eyes” from The Secret Garden and “What Good Would the Moon Be” from Street Scene are likely less so.  Beloved Broadway with Gunn and friends puts them all on equal footing and shows why each stands a musical milestone.

Produced by Julie Gunn and co-directed by herself, her husband and Kaplan, Beloved Broadway turns into a fascinating gambol through excellence.  That journey proved to have a stealthy edge.  At the beginning of both acts, the orchestra displayed its considerable chops with renditions devoid of voice accompaniment.  First with “The Carousel Waltz” and later with the Bernstein’s “Overture to Candide”, Jam Orchestra set high expectations for what was to follow.  

As pleasing as the opening songs from Carousel were, an elusive passion-defining spark had yet to be struck. Glimmers of that fire could be detected in Lisa Buhelos’ voice as she sang “When the Children are Asleep” with Eldon Warner-Soriano.  And anyone who never experienced how sublimely exquisite Mr. Gunn’s baritone can be certainly got that opportunity when he performed “Soliloquy” from the musical.  Those flashes of the exceptional were just harbingers of the deluge of musical pleasure that was to come. 

All noted for their technical dexterity, masterful versatility and natural talent, the five young “friends” accompanying Gunn in this musical tribute are all graduates of LTI; and all voices one would do well to seek out.  Buhelos would once again prove herself excellent in the duet “How Could I Ever Know?” from The Secret Garden with Ryan Bryce Johnson.  A rare and magical tenor, once Johnson centered himself on the stage, he electrified.  Chill inducing, his interpretation of West Side Story’s “Maria” showed that even the best-known masterpiece can render bright new exhilarating wonder in the right hands.  The sophistication of the arrangements hugely accentuated the enjoyment of this and many other selections.  Lara Brooks would later show how subtlety produces the same effect with her sweetly delicate treatment of “Send in the Clowns”. 

There can be no tribute to Broadway without the inclusion of Sondheim and his genius is liberally sprinkled throughout the program.  One of those songs that will likely always read as radical and revolutionary, “Now/Later/Soon” from A Little Night Music exists in a league of its own.  Intricately complex, instantly engrossing and wonderfully amusing, it’s a stylistic marvel that Buhelos, Johnson and baritone Warner-Soriano perform with the deftness of well-seasoned Great White Way veterans.  Exacting requirements in timing and phrasing are essential if the flawlessness the song strives for, in truth demands, is to be achieved.  With this crew, that box is a guaranteed check. 

A performance saturated in delight, Beloved Broadway with Nathan Gunn and Friends moves superlative, uniquely American music from the bastions of city centers to the communities where people live. That gesture makes the bounty of the arts more accessible to more people and encourages those with creative impulses to continue to dream.  It’s difficult to imagine a better vehicle for carrying such an important message with such beauty and ability.  

Nathan Gunn and Friends: Beloved Broadway

January 11, 2025

Nichols Concert Hall

1490 Chicago Avenue

Evanston, IL  60201