Review of ‘To Maury, With Love’: “Glorious rendition gives 8½ reasons to return”

London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane hosted a special one-off concert honouring composer and lyricist Maury Yeston’s legacy, which featured a star-studded cast including Ramin Karimloo, Rob Houchen, and Kelly Mathieson among many others. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show to let us know if the result was either a shipwreck or put audiences on cloud nine instead.

He’s the forgotten legend of musical theatre. Most younger generations of audiences may not be familiar with the name or his scores. And yet, his scores have captured the ears and hearts of millions worldwide. It wouldn’t surprise me if Maury Yeston, who leapt into his eighth decade last October, started this week with some additional fans, following this Sunday’s celebratory concert at London’s Drury Lane — myself included. It was that good.

His stamp is no novelty to this critic. Years ago, I saw a (let’s say) interesting production of his Felliniesque extravaganza, Nine. Also, as someone who still hasn’t got over his preteen obsession with The Phantom of the Opera, I was acquainted with this different take on the freak-belle romance, despite the original source’s police-detective essence. And of course, I wouldn’t sink as low as refusing to give Titanic, probably his most accomplished work, a try.

Despite my previous interactions with his oeuvre, I’ve never considered myself his devotee. Perhaps I should thank this event for finding a place in my soul where his notes can live rent-free. To Maury, With Love is everything it promised and, admittedly, more: a carefully curated performance that supersedes the traditional idea of a concert, elevating it to a fully functional, independent creature.

Taking viewers through Yeston’s creative highlights, the gig regaled audiences with an exemplary execution, particularly from a conceptual perspective. A lush overture featuring some of the composer’s best-known motifs transitions into the first song’s underscore, and director Tom Sutherland’s vision of a structured musical biopic begins to solidify.

This is not a simple amalgamation of popular tunes. Instead, it’s the story of someone who tells stories through music — his music. Different segments of an interview take us through his process, his anecdotes, and his artistic ethos. It’s more than a mere collection of fun facts. It’s a proper narrative thread that takes on a journey of discovery and understanding. We are in direct contact with the genius, and even at closer quarters with the man.

We are presented with his process, his inspiration, and most importantly, his personal connection with each piece and his body of work as a whole. It brims with pathos and authenticity. And despite the production’s grandeur, the final impression is of an intimate, one-to-one rendezvous with a long-time friend.

Mark Aspinall’s orchestrations underpin Yeston’s signature sumptuousness. Rich and colourful, his symphonic take on the material teems with elegance, potency, and emotiveness, effectively mirroring the most distinctive qualities in his music. His conducting demonstrates similar deftness, displaying vibrant phrasing and several segments of soaring bravura, particularly from the woodwinds.

The blending between Yeston’s recorded interventions and the songs’ beginnings accentuates the show’s feeling of cohesion. Yet, letting a choir take over before he was finished, making his speech completely inaudible, is a basic and easily avoidable error. At the end of the day, vamps exist in musical theatre for a reason.

That and the occasional desynchronization between sound and video were the only glitches blemishing an otherwise impeccable rendition. The entire company performed with astounding prowess, and some budding promises could be spotted during Lady’s Maid, where the spotlight was reserved for the Royal Academy of Music’s recent graduates.

The casting of some numbers made a playful nod to some parallel shows. Upon leaving the campiest ship in the West End, Rob Houchen embarked on a new melodic voyage through Titanic‘s The Proposal. At the same time, Ramin Karimloo and Kelly Mathieson reunited with probably the most defining roles of their careers, this time through an entirely different incarnation of Phantom.

Both Karimloo and Mathieson earn the highest praise of the evening, flaunting exceptional vocals, supported by a magnetic presence and general sense of effortlessness. Madalena Alberto and Sydnie Christmas, on the other hand, don’t stand far behind, both exhibiting remarkable singing skills and playing their parts with flair and command.

Not long ago, I came across a TikTok video that lamented Yeston’s bad luck when choosing subjects. Only a few months after opening Titanic, James Cameron released one of the biggest blockbusters in entertainment history. And right after purchasing the American adaptation rights of Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber opened the show that would change the course of musical theatre forever.

However, none of that seems to matter after the absolute triumph his work experienced last night, which was greeted with the same enthusiasm everyone involved put into the performance. For the whole rendition, it sailed on. And it proved how its immortality will endure in every age.

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All pictures credit to Eliza Wilmot.

By Guillermo Nazara