REVIEW: Legally Bound - Orfeh & Andy Karl Live at Feinstein’s / 54 Below
This live concert album is everything you could possibly want. Witty banter - check. Great songs - check. Delightful couple being adorable - check. Belting - CHECK!! Seriously, I have not enjoyed a live concert album this much in a long time.For the uninitiated, Orfeh and Andy Karl are not only bona fide Broadway stars, they are also married, and also fantastically funny, charming, and talented. Orfeh, known for Legally Blonde and Saturday Night Fever is a beltress of the highest order, and absolutely brings down the house on this album. Her rendition of "Piece of My Heart" is the stuff of legend. Karl, known for Groundhog Day and Rocky, holds his own on the album, especially when he takes centre stage for the song "Keep on Standing" from Rocky, written by the incredible Ahrens and Flaherty.
As wonderful as Orfeh and Karl are individually, the magic really happens when they join forces. The highlight of the album is "Make Like A Nail/If I Can Dream" which is a mashup of two songs, one from the Off-Broadway cult classic The Great American Trailer Park Musical and the other from what sounds to be the very Off-Off-Broadway Elvis review called Hunka Hunka Burning Love. This is a soulful and heartfelt number, and you can feel the electric energy in the room. It, as the kids say, brings all the feels.
The couple moves onto the music of our current youth, with "History" by pop megastars One Direction, and I only know that because they told me. It's a sweet and simple love song, and a great follow-up to the intense emotions of "Make Like A Nail/If I Can Dream".
Orfeh is joined onstage by special guest Andrew Logan for a rousing rendition of "I'm Your Baby Tonight" by the late, great Whitney Houston. It is a tremendously difficult song to sing, and Orfeh and Logan hit it out of the park.
The album never really winds down, but there are quieter moments such as Karl's moving rendition of "Seeing You" from the recently shuttered Groundhog Day. The album ends with a raucous cover of Prince's "Kiss" where you will experience some serious regrets for not being there live, because this was a great party.
You Gotta Listen To:
* "Make Like A Nail / If I Can Dream" * "History" * "Keep on Standing" * "Piece of My Heart"
You Could Skip:
* Nothing - it is that good.
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