The Vogel in Red Bank, NJ this Friday, April 28, 2023 evening is abuzz with patrons seated at tables enjoying drinks as they await the start of a Melissa Manchester concert celebrating her 50 years in the music business.
Audience members applaud as keyboardist Bette Sussman and vocalist/percussionist Susan Holder take their places on the stage. A video of Melissa Manchester performing the upbeat “You Gotta Love the Life” plays on a large screen. The video, which features images of Manchester with friends including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, and more, generates avid cheers from the crowd.
Melissa Manchester takes the stage flashing her winning smile and waving to fans as she launches into a swinging rendition of “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.” Deftly accompanied by Sussman on electronic keyboard and Holder on percussion, Manchester’s alto rings out rich and true as she cries, “How lucky can one gal be?” to whistles, cheers, and applause.
“I’m so happy to be here!” declares Manchester, explaining, “That song, from my album, The Fellas, was a tribute to Dean Martin.” Moving on to her tribute to Johnny Mathis from the same 2017 recording — a follow-up to her 1989 Tribute to female singers — Manchester delights the crowd with a unique arrangement of “Chances Are.” Demonstrating her vocal prowess, she connects with the audience with a jazzy style on this syncopated rendition featuring a bossa nova feel.
After referring to Marvin Hamlisch as “the people’s composer,” a video of Hamlisch conducting an orchestra interspersed with clips from the film, Ice Castles, accompanies Manchester’s emotional performance of the Academy Award-nominated “Through the Eyes of Love,” and brings concertgoers to their feet.
Manchester talks about Re:View, her upcoming album which contains reimagined renditions of several of her hits. Here, she launches into an updated version of her 1975 Top Ten smash, “Midnight Blue,” where she is skillfully accompanied by vocal harmonies from her musical colleagues before being featured playing grand piano to the cheering and applauding crowd.
Sussman moves from electronic keyboard to grand piano and Manchester sings center stage with feeling on a slow, gentle version of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.” As images of displaced children appear on screen, Manchester invites the audience to join in with her on the song’s “Be my, be my baby” refrain where feelings of community and humanity fill the theater.
Joking, “I was a balladeer, but this song made me the queen of the aerobics class!” Manchester and friends energetically perform her 1982 Top 5 Hit, “You Should Hear How She Talks About You,” where concertgoers bop to the music as they happily sing along.
“Fun!” exclaims Manchester, prior to noting, “Since the pandemic, I’m grateful we can be in a community again.” Her voice shines on a powerful arrangement of Stephen Sondheim’s ballad from Company, “Being Alive,” which builds to a breathtaking crescendo and fills the theater with whistles and cheers.
Acknowledging that after the pandemic she wanted to “create a video to pay homage to first responders and essential workers,” Manchester concludes Act I by performing an upbeat version of her composition, “Just You and I.” Developed with students from Glendora, CA’s Citrus College, the video features a choir of young people accompanying Manchester as she cries, “When the legend’s over/They’ll be just you and I,” to enthusiastic cheers and applause.
Following a short intermission, Manchester returns to the stage and impresses the crowd with a swinging interpretation of “Love is Just Around the Corner.” On this happy-go-lucky Fellas tribute to Mel Torme, Melissa demonstrates her vocal versatility by nimbly scat-singing on the musical interlude to avid audience applause.
Grand piano and voice are featured on Manchester’s rendition of the Academy-Award-nominated “Theme from The Promise (I’ll Never Say Goodbye).” Manchester stands downstage and connects with the audience in the Vogel’s intimate performance space as percussion rolls add to the drama of this touching and moving presentation.
Joking, “I am your representative from the age of vinyl!” a video of Manchester and Barry Manilow fills the screen as the duo — with Manilow singing on the recording and Manchester singing live — brings the pair’s The Fellas’ tribute to Gene Kelly to life with a delightful rendition of “For Me And My Gal.”
After talking about how she and Manilow were jingle singers who went on to work with Bette Midler, Manchester publicly rehearses “I Am a Child,” a number she’ll be singing next week at a Carnegie Hall tribute to Manilow. Here, Manchester is accompanied by expert playing from pianist Bette Sussman on her tour de force performance of this lovely Manilow ballad.
Manchester plays piano and sings along with percussion and synthesized keyboard cello on an intimate arrangement of her 1975 effort, “Come In From the Rain,” where the crowd offers up cheers for her moving and passionate performance.
She follows up with a story recounting how she and Kenny Loggins co-wrote “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’” before she and her stagemates energetically perform the 1978 Top 5 hit originally recorded by Loggins with help from Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks.
Revealing, “It took me a long time to understand these lyrics,” Manchester vocalizes with feeling on a slow, emotional rendition of her 1978 Top Ten hit, “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” Singing, “Don’t cry out loud/Just keep it inside, learn how to hide your feelings,” Manchester ends with a flourish in front of the standing and cheering crowd.
After thanking the audience for sharing this special evening with her, Manchester performs “How Do You Keep the Music Playing,” her Fellas tribute to Tony Bennett. As her rich alto serenades concertgoers and envelopes them like a warm embrace, the crowd rises to its feet cheering and applauding for more.
Manchester, touched by the audience’s response, smiles and bows asking, “One more?” The crowd responds in the affirmative and, in honor of her “musical godmother,” Judy Garland, Manchester concludes tonight’s event with a knock-your-socks off rendition of “Come Rain or Come Shine.”
Audience members stand and cheer as Manchester takes a final bow and exits the stage.
As concertgoers make their way out of the Vogel theater, we chat with several audience members who share their thoughts on this evening’s performance. Declares Tracy from North Plainfield, “Melissa Manchester was fabulous tonight! She’s never been better — she stuns!” Recalling, “I saw her for the first time back in 1983 at the Garden State Arts Center,” Tracy explains, “Her voice continues to evolve, and she knows how to make songs her own because she’s also a songwriter.”
Comments Stanley, a professional musician from Westfield who worked with Manchester in the early to mid-1970s, “Melissa is just fantastic — amazing, really. Vocally, she’s so rich — she incorporates a lot of jazz in her singing, and her pacing on stage is just impeccable.”
Whereas Duncan from Westfield discloses, “I’m a long-time fan. This is my third time seeing Melissa and she’s just terrific!” his friend, Rudy from South Amboy, asserts, “Her voice is stronger than ever. She performed a wide variety of songs in her set and had the audience right in the palm of her hand.”
Carla from Brick agrees, explaining, “She really knows how to connect with people, not only musically, but emotionally. She’s so engaging and warm when she tells her stories, and then when she sings, you connect with her on a whole other level.”
Lastly, Bruce from Parsippany reveals, “I’ve been a fan of Melissa’s for 50 years. I saw her for the first time at Rutgers University back in 1975 and now she’s a legend.” Acknowledging, “Over the decades, I’ve seen her at least a dozen times and there’s nobody else around like her,” Bruce concludes by insisting, “For me, she’s just timeless!”
To learn more about Melissa Manchester, please go to melissamanchester.com. To learn more about upcoming performances at The Vogel — including Emily Grove’s Tribute to Joni Mitchell on July 1, Bob James on July 12, Aimee Mann on August 6, and Al Stewart on August 7 — please click on thebasie.org.
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