Eden Espinosa: Moving On

Eden Espinosa is one of those rare artists I've admired and (somewhat) followed for so long that it's easy for me to forget that I've never actually seen her perform. Not that she isn't in good company; I remember realizing about ten minutes into Mr. and Mrs. Smith on my dinky laptop via Netflix that I had never actually seen Angelina Jolie in a film. And it's highly possible that she happened to be performing in one of the at least half dozen times I giddily sat through Animazement, the only Disneyland show of yesteryear I deeply deeply miss (thanks in large part to what I call "The Note," a heartstopper ending chord of a trio medley of which Ms. Espinosa was a part). Regardless, the past week served as my de facto maiden voyage on the E-Train, despite how...constant, I'll say...of a role her name and (mostly absent) persona has played around and within my consciousness over the past seven or eight months.

As I listened to Ms. Espinosa gliding with seeming effortlessness through Sara Bareilles' haunting "Gravity" on Friday night at the Ford Amphitheater, I was reminded just why I have always avoided getting wrapped up (or swept up) in artists beyond their art. Not only do the very concepts behind, much less specific actions of, leeches of consumer society like TMZ and People Magazine offend my sense of basic human decency, I've found that all that stuff they supposedly strive to publish (i.e. the private/everyday lives of celebrities) isn't even a guilty pleasure for me. I don't work in the entertainment industry per se; therefore I have no desire NOR need to know if Brittany Snow is a bitch or Zac Efron is gay or Meryl Streep is rude in nearly empty movie theatres. Yes, my investment in Britney Spears' career and comeback is greatly related to her personal trials, but I strongly believe she wouldn't have had to go through a fraction of what she did were it not for the vulture culture I mention above. But does my decision to purchase Madonna's next album or not depend in any way on whether or not she gets to take home another Malawian orphan?

No.

Anyway, the point of that little mini-rant is essentially this: a good artist will typically produce good work regardless of the various minor or sometimes even major particles of shit life has a way of throwing at everyone, be they a minimum wage high school dropout or the President of the United States. On Friday night Ms. Espinosa proved, at least to me, that she can be rightfully called a "good artist." Despite a bundle of hurdles and hiccups that occurred in the preparation of the concert (and one or two minor ones during the event, which the performer managed quite well), Ms. Espinosa's night at the Ford turned out to be a solid success, all told.

The concert Friday at the Ford was apparently a reworking of a solo show Ms. Espinosa developed for Upright Cabaret in Los Angeles a while back, which she also took to New York for several shows but to my knowledge hasn't performed it since then. Naturally a cabaret show created for a space like Mark's Restaurant in West Hollywood must be adapted significantly for a midsized outdoor amphitheater such as the Ford. While Upright's first offering in their Wicked Summer Nights concert trilogy, a truly phenomenal tour-de-force by Shoshana Bean, was conceived and developed for the venue, Me! was certainly and obviously not. Ms. Espinosa describes it in interviews and in brief comments from the stage as a deeply personal show with a trajectory and a message, but for reasons many of which fall beyond Ms. Espinosa's control, such as time allotment and unique requirements of the venue, what was originally conceived as a personal, meaningful show did not retain that intimacy or inherent meaning in the translation, presented more as a normal set list.

That is not at all to say that Ms. Espinosa's set list wasn't solid, for the most part. Her vulnerable rendition of "Gravity" has stayed with me through the weekend despite my distaste for the song as originally recorded (I don't really do sad music, though, so that's not a criticism). Also, the clandestine encore duet - a medley of Audra Mae's beautiful song "Ruby Shoes" and a song that (for better or worse) will likely continue to define Ms. Espinosa's public legacy for the forseeable future, "Defying Gravity" - was my personal favorite of the evening. Ms. Espinosa, director Billy Porter and musical director Chris Bratten wisely chose a graceful, down-tempo arrangement of Stephen Schwartz's cruel gift/curse to female belters, the original arrangement of which I have never once heard successfully performed live outside of the Wicked stage. (Side note for Ms. Espinosa: When one is blessed as you are with an unduplicated mastery of Wicked's eleven o'clock number, "No Good Deed," one ought to consider using it as one's requisite Wicked song at special appearances, instead of the deadly "Defying Gravity" or the ubiquitous default choice, "The Wizard and I.")

But it was the fast-paced rock-out songs, fewas they may have been, that worked best overall. A new and unexpected cover of "River Deep, Mountain High" made a valiant effort at enlivening a lackluster audience (again no fault of the performer; Friday nights are tough nights both to perform and to take in a concert requiring any modicum of participation), and a delightful rendition of Beyonce's melodramatic "Halo" both improved upon the original and allowed for a clever (if lovably trite) way to introduce the musicians. Although Ms. Espinosa has emphasized recently that she is capable of more than simply screeching her face off on stage (and proved it with the aforementioned ballads as well as a lovely performance of "Feed the Birds" at The Star Spot in West Hollywood earlier in the week), she did throw a couple bones to the numerous fans that invariably whoop and holler at any full voiced high note held more than two full counts - and pulled them off as well.

After both of the most belt-heavy numbers, however, Ms. Espinosa immediately commented on how difficult they were, as if apologizing for her performance; if that was the intent, it was unnecessary, as she handled both pieces impressively. From my seat in the third row I found the lead vocals too often drowned out during the up-tempo, full-band songs, which I also noticed to a lesser extent at Ms. Bean's show back in the ninth row; I fear I am forever cursed so that sound issues follow me everywhere I go. That, or the Ford needs a new soundboard operator, stat.

Fortunately the full house of musical accompaniment was top-notch, particularly the lead guitarist and not one but two keyboardists/pianists who were the epitome of perfect accompanists. I was personally thrilled to have the incredible Ty Taylor (Songs for a New World) joining an already strong backup vocal group, and his charming duet with Ms. Espinosa in tribute to the late Michael Jackson was another highlight. And, of course, I get particular pleasure in seeing strings in any band, so was glad to see the return of the terrific cellist from Ms. Bean's concert as well as a violinist, both of whom were well and consistently used.

Although in the weeks before the concert several new guests were announced in a manner that seemed almost dismissive of the main performer, the end result was far better than my expectations. Effervescent Oklahoma songstress Audra Mae delivered a solid and consistently enjoyable set with perfectly calibrated energy, enthusiasm, artistic skill and most of all charm. If my eyes left her at all the entire time she held the stage it was only to watch her equally engaging backup singer on whom I may have developed a major stage crush. Her easygoing effortlessness in attitude and pace was missed in the second half, granted there is a significant difference in mood and tone between the two performers. But the genius of the pairing of Audra Mae and Eden Espinosa, which I would never have guessed beforehand, is that despite their vast difference in content, their voices complement one another beautifully. Listening to each of them separately it would never seem so, but their all too brief encore duet showed that there is something between the two performers I think would be fascinating to see further developed someday.

Also well handled was the inclusion of Grammy winner Paula Cole, after whose song Ms. Espinosa's concert was named. Ms. Cole's brief but touching appearance was surprisingly satisfying, even more so because it was clear that it meant just as much to her to be there as it did to Ms. Espinosa, the producers and those of us who grew up with (or around) Dawson's Creek. (One of the more amusing parts of the evening for me was seeing how screamingly clear the generational differences were present when Ms. Cole sang "I Don't Want to Wait," a song apparently familiar to people for whom high school and Dawson's Creek coincided and NO ONE ELSE!)

In all, I enjoyed Eden Espinosa: ME! at the Ford, in a way that sums up my opinion of Ms. Espinosa in general. As with so many things in my life, I am discovering Ms. Espinosa after the height of her career to this date, just as I did The Simpsons, Madonna, Sex and the City, and countless other legends of greatness. What separates Ms. Espinosa from those examples, however, is her youth and her vast potential. The days of Defying Gravity or Once Upon a Time eight shows a week are probably behind her; and praise be for that! Whether purposefully or not, Ms. Espinosa has allowed herself some time off from full-time performance lately as her body, her voice, and maybe her own life adjust to a new decade. That is something so many young performers fail to do, and many end up destroying their instrument - or worse, their spirit. Her short hiatus may be just what is needed for unimaginative Broadway casting directors to let go of the Elphaba/Brooklyn/Maureen niche most people (myself included) once relegated her to, and consider her for roles for which she is completely suited, like Mary Poppins, Nellie Forbush, Velma Kelly or anything by Sondheim, who is the 30+ musical theatre actress' best friend and antidote to the Belting Twenties.

As she hinted at briefly on Friday night, now is probably a great time for Ms. Espinosa to pursue some new paths in her art and her career. I find it interesting and telling that both Ms. Espinosa and Ms. Bean seem on stage and off to have grown out of Wicked, as in the pop cultural phenomenon more than the mere nuts and bolts of the show itself (I'm sure both performers have and will continue to encounter pressure to return yet again to Oz), despite Wicked being Upright's sales point. In both cases, audiences may have come to hear some Wicked and instead got a hearty serving of real artistry far beyond the flashy theatrical juggernaut. I hope it is as apparent to Ms. Espinosa as it was to me Friday night that her instrument (such a pompous word, I know, but purposefully used) is in excellent shape, admittedly beyond my expectations. Elaine Stritch, Patti LuPone and Bernadette Peters are still going strong not because their instruments are miraculously immune to the effects of time and use; they're going strong because they adapt to themselves rather than trying vainly to adapt to what the Stephen Schwartzes and Andrew Lloyd Webbers of the world keep dishing out and the 17 year old girls flock to in droves.

There will always be plenty of 17 year olds to fill the Gershwin and the Majestic, but no one can stay 17 forever. While there may always be Elphaba, the women who play her will and must at some point leave her behind. I look forward to continuing to grow up as so too do special performers like Eden Espinosa who, on me at least, have made lasting impressions.