Playing Broadway legend Ethel Merman is far more exacting than embodying her larger-than-life persona. No one knows that better than Broadway’s Rita McKenzie, who has been reliving the glory days of the iconic Merman in her one-woman tribute, Ethel Merman’s Broadway. McKenzie’s more than convincing, almost eerie transformation, into the star who has been deceased for 24 years draws crowds everywhere the show is booked. Saturday evening at the Music Center at Strathmore will likely be no exception to that stunning record.
“I’ve always had a powerful voice; obviously the basics are there,” McKenzie said. “But I had to learn to belt like Ethel Merman and to learn the cadence that matters so much in the singing. I had to learn to hold the notes; that was the hardest part, I think.”
It was a challenge that she quickly took on and one that paid off for McKenzie, and still does as she takes the show on the road to thunderous applause and rave reviews. BroadwayWorld.com notes that “McKenzie steals the scene and wins our hearts, making the legend Ethel Merman … still crowing, still going strong.”
| Onstage |
| Ethel Merman’s Broadway |
| » Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| » When: 8 p.m. Saturday |
| » Info: Call for seating and prices, 301-581-5100; strathmore.org |
McKenzie as Merman delivers timeless hits like “Some People,” “You’re the Top,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” with all of the boldness and brass that earned Merman recognition as the Queen of Broadway during its Golden Age. And she keeps Ethel Merman’s Broadway as fresh and exciting as the first time she performed, not long after the legend’s death.
“I liken [the show] to a prom dress that I put on and go, ‘shoo, it fits,'” McKenzie explained. “I go out there and do this performance not expecting to know what will happen. It’s fresh every time because the audience is different every time.”
Indeed. McKenzie feels that, because it is a one-woman show, her audience is the co-star, each with a different personality that allows her to play back and forth to them. And with them.
“They don’t necessarily understand or realize that they are the most important part of the show,” McKenzie continued, noting that the 20-plus songs she performs are woven into the story of Merman’s life. “The key to the show is obviously wanting to sing those songs and the next thing is knowing who you are when you go out there — Ethel Merman — and then you just let it fly.”
