By Alix Cohen

Brian Stokes Mitchell’s life and career span both artistic triumph and personal resilience. Onstage, he rose to the top of Broadway with standout performances in Ragtime and Kiss Me, Kate, establishing himself as one of the great leading men of his generation. Offstage, he overcame throat cancer in the early 2000s and returned to performing, a testament to discipline and spirit. He’s also made a lasting impact through leadership as chairman of The Actors Fund and the Artists Committee of Americans for the Arts.

Collaborating with “Stokes”* is the sensational Tedd Firth whose sensitivity, taste, touch, and creativity enhances this evening immeasurably.


Tedd Firth, Brian Stokes Mitchell

Despite a few allusions of political gravitas, this is a playful Mitchell. He’s both physically (the man can mooove) and musically loose, excavates a bushel of memories, introduces his son (on tech), personably interacts and invites audience to parrot some lyrics. “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (Annie Get Your Gun– Irving Berlin) bounces in on a captivating, original arrangement by Firth.

Songs from shows in which Mitchell starred – some on Broadway, others regionally, still others in concert form, include: “I, Don Quixote” (partly in Spanish) and, of course, “The Impossible Dream” ( Man of La Mancha – Mitch Leigh/Joe Darion) and “How to Handle a Woman” (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe- Camelot), replete with its lengthy, rarely heard verse.

“It Ain’t Necessarily So” (Porgy and Bess– George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) is preceded by a story of having turned down the role of Sportin’ Life with The Metropolitan Opera in order to play Jimmy Winter in David Merrick’s production of Oh Kay!– because he was young and yearned for Broadway. Mitchell was late in deciding. Opera programs were printed. “I was on the page but not the stage with Leontyne Price and Placido Domingo,” he ruefully quips. It lasted 2 months.

The artist sings every part in Stephen Sondheim’s “Getting Married” (Company) with perfect enunciation and a generous slice of ham and a moving “Wheels of a Dream” (Ragtime -Steve Flaherty/Lynn Ahrens ) from his memorable turn as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. Writers Ahrens and Flaherty are in the audience.

A version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”, whose world weary lyrics were astoundingly written before the tender age of twenty, is an example of the material with which Mitchell grew up. Firth’s playing and original arrangement are haunting. We could’ve just listened to his instrumental interpretation.

“Wizard Every Day”, A wonderful song by Nikko Benson and Liz Suggs that Mitchell literally chanced upon, is about a little boy whose Halloween costume is a dragon in a wizard’s hat: I’m just a dragon now, but I’m a wizard every day…Rob (the man who answered the door) works for Office Depot/He’d forgotten how to play…”

Aria da Capo, we close with the story of Mitchell singing “The Impossible Dream” out the window of his Broadway apartment during the Pandemic (Instead of banging a pot – to honor essential workers) and with “Wonderful World” (George David Weiss/Bob Thiele), ending in hope.

Photos by Richard Termine

* “Stokes” is a surname on his mother’s side, and his parents chose to use it as his middle name.

An Evening with Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tedd Firth- Music Director/Piano
92nd Street Y New York 1395 Lexington Avenue
(between 91st & 92nd streets) https://www.92ny.org/