To Maury With Love is the latest one night event at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and this one celebrates the 80th birthday of composer Maury Yeston. It brings to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane stage West End stars including Ramin Karimloo, Rob Houchen, Sydnie Christmas, Kelly Mathieson, Graham Bickley and Madalena Alberto alongside The London Musical Theatre Orchestra.

Maury Yeston’s shows may not spark the same name recognition as some of his contemporaries however this didn’t detract from the evening. For those unfamiliar with him he is an American musical theatre composer who has won Tony awards for best musical and best score as well as Grammy and Golden Globe nominations. I’ve been lucky enough to see three of his shows performed, Titanic, Grand Hotel and Nine but we were not only treated to a selection of songs from these shows but also others including Death Takes A Holiday (which had a short run off West End in 2017), Phantom (not to be confused with Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera stemming from the same source material), In The Beginning and Club Moscow (which is yet to have a full outing). Interspersed with the music was interview footage with the birthday boy which gave the evening a more intimate feel, even in such a huge venue. The interview footage also allowed us to see him as more than a composer as we learnt about his thoughts on musical theatre, his childhood and his family however the footage failed to really address what was happening on stage and with the concert lacking any sort of MC it was hard to place the importance or meaning of each number chosen. This insight from Yeston or even someone on stage could have elevated it from a nostalgic celebration for insiders to a reminder of a composer who deserves greater mainstream attention.

The performers all did an outstanding job, Ramin Karimloo and Rob Houchen joined forced to perform one of my favourite numbers from Titanic, ‘The Proposal,’ and equally Karimloo and Kelly Mathieson’s performance of Home from Phantom made me want to discover more about Yeston’s version. Girl In The Mirror was performed by Sydnie Christmas and it was full of personality and showcased her vocals brilliantly. The song selection did however lean slightly too far into the ballads and some more upbeat numbers or ones with comedy would have broken up some of the seriousness of the night. However each performer rose to the challenge of delivering beautiful versions of the music.

The show was kept simple in terms of staging with the 30 strong orchestra dominating most of the stage but it goes to show that not all one night concerts need to be ‘semi-staged’ as letting the orchestra and the singers simply deliver the music worked perfectly for this concert. Equally when one night concerts can be plagued with technical difficulties this was far from the case, the lighting design by Howard Hudson enhanced the music, giving just enough drama to add some atmosphere but not so much that it was ever distracting. Equally Andrew Johnson the sound engineer achieved the seemingly impossible at these concerts and perfectly balanced the orchestra and the singers throughout the show. There was a glitch with the projected visuals and sound being out of sync however this didn’t distract from the enjoyment of the evening.

Ultimately To Maury With Love felt less like a star studded gala and more like a heartfelt tribute to a composer whose work perhaps deserves broader recognition than it achieves. The evening may have leant into Yeston’s more reflective ballads, but the sheer quality of the performances, the richness of the orchestrations and the glimpses into the man behind the music created an enjoyable evening. If the aim of the evening was to celebrate Maury Yeston’s birthday by reminding audiences of the depth and beauty of his catalogue then this concert more than achieved it.

If you like this review of To Maury With Love you might also like my review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Cabaret and Hadestown.