Hollywood Bowl kicks off season with heartfelt 'Best of Broadway' — though 'best' may be a stretch

Nostalgia for Broadway’s aureate property is proving to beryllium a potent societal anesthetic. The large shows of yesterday connection a imaginativeness of a kinder, gentler America, wherever the angels of our amended quality aren’t considered chumps and the imagination of a amended time hasn’t been destroyed by zero-sum thinking.

The hunger for this sentiment — let’s telephone it basal goodness — is real. Sensitive to the public’s jangled mood, the Hollywood Bowl kicked disconnected its 2026 play connected Saturday with “The Best of Broadway,” a lavish, celebratory, unapologetically heartfelt performance headlined by Tony winners Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

Also connected manus was Halle Bailey, a Grammy-nominated R&B artist, who’s connected the rise. She whitethorn not person immoderate Broadway signifier credits, but she’s go a philharmonic theatre endowment to ticker aft her show arsenic Ariel successful Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.”

As host, Billy Crystal brought his impeccable comic timing and casual affability to the stage, making the expansive gala consciousness arsenic cozy arsenic a backyard barbecue. He joked astir the postulation — relieving everyone’s driving and parking stress. He repeatedly plugged his caller autobiographical amusement “860” that’s headed to Broadway successful the fall. And helium had america each successful stitches when, aft a burst of applause, helium remarked that helium hadn’t heard specified a rousing ovation since they took Trump’s sanction disconnected the Kennedy Center.

Headliners execute successful “The Best of Broadway” astatine the Hollywood Bowl.

(Timothy Norris)

The nighttime raised $2.3 cardinal for the L.A. Philharmonic’s learning and assemblage programs, including Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, the signature programme launched during euphony manager Gustavo Dudamel’s tenure to bring rigorous euphony acquisition to underserved younker crossed Los Angeles County. Members of YOLA joined the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, expertly conducted by Thomas Wilkins, for a information of the concert’s 2nd half.

The program, a enactment of Broadway tunes aged and new, ushered successful the summertime play successful breezy style. The wine-buoyed audience, anxious to amusement its appreciation, was connected hair-trigger alert for lasting ovations. Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide” made the accepted fireworks show each the much magical.

I had a beauteous time, but I can’t accidental the performance lived up to its title. Not that awesome virtuosity wasn’t connected display, but Broadway is genuinely astatine its champion erstwhile philharmonic numbers are embedded successful a story, allowing the performers to provender disconnected each different and scope heights that they mightiness not beryllium capable to scope connected their own.

Too overmuch of the measure required the actors to basal and deliver, “American Idol”-style. It was a small unfair to spot specified a dense load connected them. Salonga is vocally built for this setup, and she was capable to shine, conscionable arsenic she did successful “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends,” displaying her unthinkable versatility successful numbers arsenic disparate arsenic “Send successful the Clowns,” “I’d Give My Life for You” and “Defying Gravity.”

Brian Stokes Mitchell performs astatine the Hollywood Bowl’s “The Best of Broadway.”

Responsible for overmuch of the night’s dense lifting, Salonga adjacent performed a medley of ABBA favorites from “Mamma Mia!” It was a crowd-pleasing moment, to beryllium sure, but much successful keeping with the bygone epoch of TV assortment shows than with premier Broadway.

Goldsberry thrilled the assemblage erstwhile she performed “Satisfied,” the opus she enactment her stamp connected successful her Tony-winning show arsenic Angelica Schuyler successful “Hamilton.” Her singing and rapping were arsenic crisp arsenic ever, but the effect wasn’t rather the aforesaid without Angelica’s sisters successful the background.

The exquisite lighting, shifting with pastel shades of Spielbergian wonder, lent a cinematic prime that felt due to a signifier named successful grant of composer and conductor John Williams. A fleet institution of dancers, choreographed and costumed by Spencer Liff, added to the dreamlike effect of a performance book-ended by numbers from “A Chorus Line.”

When Mitchell sang “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” helium seemed to beryllium floating connected a Busby Berkeley cloud. One of Broadway’s indisputable heavyweights, Mitchell leaned a small much heavy than accustomed connected his charisma, though possibly helium was redeeming his vocal prowess for “The Impossible Dream” and “Wheels of a Dream,” 2 powerhouse numbers from his Broadway past.

Criss was electrical successful “Something’s Coming” from “West Side Story,” gliding crossed the signifier arsenic though successful a full-scale production. And it was delightful to spot him speech quirky misfit sparks with Salonga during their duet of “Suddenly Seymour,” 1 of the uncommon moments erstwhile the singers were allowed to articulation forces.

The item of the evening, a existent ensemble moment, was the archetypal enactment finale. An elegant rendition of “Put connected Your Sunday Clothes” from “Hello, Dolly!” agreed the performers successful an exuberant radical number. The dancers, costumed successful their Saturday evening black-and-white vintage best, added to the parading splendor.

Halle Bailey successful “The Best of Broadway.”

(Timothy Norris)

There should person been much opportunities for this benignant of synergy. To inquire a vocalist to locomotion connected and bring the location down with “You’ll Never Walk Alone” mightiness beryllium asking a spot excessively much. Goldsberry smartly went successful a much humble folk-gospel absorption for this operatic showstopper from “Carousel.”

Bailey, dressed arsenic a fairy princess erstwhile singing “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid,” was somewhat incongruously glammed up for her rendition of “Home” from “The Wiz,” the opus that Stephanie Mills made indelible. Some of america are afflicted with longer memories of Broadway’s champion than the instant sensation TikTok generation.

The enactment for “Rent” that Goldsberry offered had maine likewise harking backmost to much memorable theatrical encounters with the music. Not that the songs weren’t admirably performed, but the aforesaid strength of emotion can’t beryllium conjured retired of bladed air.

These starry revues enactment champion erstwhile the accent is placed connected mentation alternatively than earthy execution. Not adjacent the astir talented philharmonic theatre talents tin needfully conquer connected command.

Broadway’s clasp connected america isn’t conscionable astir nostalgia oregon virtuosity. It’s besides astir collaboration and the glory of teamwork.

Here’s an thought for adjacent year’s opening nighttime gala: Reassemble these luminaries for a performance mentation of a philharmonic and ticker them standard caller heights together.