Songs from less well known shows and some that he just wanted the opportunity to sing were also featured. The title track from Imagine This was something lovely (and made me want to track down the soundtrack) backed by, as he was at many times through the night, a choir made up of Mountview and Arts Ed students; the Producers’ King of Broadway was a tightly choreographed delight, and Lost in the Stars, from a Kurt Weill musical of the same name stood out too. There were also a few forays into pop/soul numbers which I wasn’t so keen on like Heaven Help Us All and Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Peter's sister Eve Polycarpou giving us a rendition of The First Time Ever I Saw You Face here too, but the Randy Newman material worked well.
But even in a show celebrating his own career, Polycarpou shared the limelight generously, allowing moments for his guests to really shine too. Hannah Waddingham brought the house down with an impassioned rendition of Ragtime’s Back To Before, following a romp through The Song That Goes Like This with the leading man; Simon Bowman gave us Music of the Night, Stuart Matthew Price duetted on his own Stories for Heroes and Claire Moore and Rebecca Trehearn combined to great effect on Miss Saigon’s I Still Believe. And reinforcing his strong teaching work, he gave over the spotlight to two upcoming talents: Valjean-in-the-making Samuel Nunn and Tyrone Huntley who both impressed.
There were the usual issues with events such as these: Michelle Collins, scheduled to duet on Baby It’s Cold Outside, was a last minute dropout; and there was some extremely wayward sound design issues which remained a problem, though not huge, for most of the evening. But altogether it was a lovely evening that paid great tribute to a varied performer who perhaps deserves more credit than he currently gets. The final ensemble rendition of Seasons of Love was a brilliant way to end the evening, Waddingham giving it her best vamping, but a final encore of Irving Berlin’s What’ll I Do – a perfect nod to his televisual past – showed real class.
Songlist
Imagine This
Short People
Two Ladies
Lost in the Stars
Phil’s Song/Summer’s Day (w/Rebecca Trehearn and Jos Slovick)
Johanna
Heaven Help Us All (w/Eve Polycarpou and Stephen D Fletcher)
The First Time Ever I saw Your Face – Eve Polycarpou
Stories for Heroes (w/Stuart Matthew Price)
Bring Him Home – Samuel Nunn
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Soliloquy
Master of the House (w/Claire Moore)
It’s a Scandal
Music of the Night – Simon Bowman
Shenandoah
Toot Toot Tootsie
Mamma Told Me Not To Come
Lonely At The Top – Tyrone Huntley
King of Broadway
The Song That Goes Like This (w/Hannah Waddingham)
Back To Before – Hannah Waddingham
Funny
I Still Believe – Claire Moore and Rebecca Trehearn
Bui Doi
Seasons of Love
What’ll I Do