Unison Arts Center hosted “Ya Got Me: Songs for Two or Three,” with friendship serving as the common topic for the event.
The event, which featured duets, trios, and a few solos by the voices of the American Musical Theatre, took place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8. The two-hour event included a 10 minute intermission and featured performances by Molly Parker-Myers, Kevin Archambault and Victoria Howland.
“I liked the theme of friendship and the familiar songs,” said Addie Haas, who has attended many events at Unison in the past. “I like musical theatre, and I’m a big supporter of Unison.”
The musical performance was performed in front of an audience of 40 people ranging from ages four to 80, most viewers being senior citizens, 65 years-old or older. The event was sponsored by Attorney Jonathan Katz, Mary Collins Real Estate Inc. and the staff of the Kingston Hampton Inn.
The seating of the small room that the event took place in was that of cabaret style. In front of the stage, there were several circular tables with seating for five and two long rectangular tables with seating for 10. In addition, colorful paintings were hung on the walls.
“I had never been to Unison before, so I wanted to check it out,” said Randy Loder, an audience member who happened to know two of the three performers, Archambault and Howland. “I liked the different themes of friendship. I thought they flowed really well.”
The performance’s plot was about the performers being in rehearsal, getting ready for the event. The first song that they performed was a song simply titled “friendship.”
The different themes of friendship throughout the performance included childhood friends, family (who, as noted by the performers, can make the best friends), and friends’ support. Songs performed ranged from upbeat trios such as “Side By Side” from the musical Company, to ballad duets such as “For Good” from the broadway musical Wicked.
There was also several show tunes performed that audience members, such as Thom Webb, had never heard before. Webb, who has performed in other shows at Unison and is a friend of the three performers, liked the songs that he was unfamiliar with, due to his friends’ performance of them.
But another audience member, Archamabault’s mother, especially enjoyed the musical performance.
“It’s a delight to hear him sing,” Mary Jo Archambault said, who was at the performance with her husband to see their son perform. This was their first time seeing a performance at Unison.
The event ended with an audience sing-a-long. Audience members pulled out lyric sheets, taped underneath their seats by the staff of Unison and sang along with the performers about friendship.