Show Finder

The show, drawing upon Connick’s recent album of the same name, is clearly a labor of love. Not only does Connick sing roughly a dozen songs, spread out some genial patter, hoof it a bit, and play the piano; he is also the show’s writer and director — and the arranger and orchestrator, too. That said, he certainly does not stint when it comes to sharing the spotlight with his musicians: the show features a remarkably large orchestra of more than two dozen. The brass section alone makes up about half of that, and provides hot bursts of sound that add the requisite punch to the Big Band-style arrangements. (The sound mix could, however, use some adjusting; at times the plush music-making threatened to muddy the lyrics.) 

It’s the right weather for this sort of show — we need an entertainment, a cozy throw, a weighted blanket, a warm dessert. It’s also the easiest decision you’ll ever need to make about where you put your leisure budget. Go have a listen to Connick on YouTube, singing Porter’s “True Love” from High Society, something he does just this way in the show. Does the big-band arrangement, those trumpets punching right into your breastbone, do anything for you? Does Connick’s Louisiana rasp slow your heartbeat? Are you listening with your eyes closed?

Returning to Broadway, Harry Connick Jr. chooses his muse wisely and well, taking the stage in an attractively modern, multi-media setting to celebrate that most sophisticated of the American songbook’s founders, Cole Porter.At its frequent best, Harry Connick Jr.: A Celebration of Cole Porter, opening tonight at the Nederlander Theatre, pairs Porter’s songwriting genius with Connick’s superb musicianship, supple, ear-pleasing vocals and a brash confidence that pushes the music from the comfort of classic pop into bolder, jazzier terrain. Connick, with his years on American Idol, movie screens and concert stages, is certainly the most popular interpreter of American standards, and he takes fine advantage of that good will, unafraid to slip in an occasional dissonance or to slow down a vocal like a train creeping to its halt. Where Connick leads, his audience knows to follow.