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Boston Sings Boston IV - Includes a ballad from MONSTERS!

Music Reviews
    
"Boston Sings Boston IV" by Bob De Vivo, Aimee Doherty, Lisa Korak, Kathy St. George
by John Amodeo
EDGE Entertainment Contributor    
Tuesday Nov 8, 2005

Among this bunch, however, two songwriters rise like cream to the top, whose work could and should be topping the charts. Krisanthi Pappas’ flawless folk ballad, “My Back Yard” speaks to the inner child in all of us, while former Boston South Ender, Ernie Lijoi’s duet, “That’s What I Would Do,” celebrates the carpe diem spirit, with razor sharp lyrics like,” I’d raise the roof, I’d raise the stakes, I’d raise the bar.” I’d raise the money, any amount, to see the new musical theater production, “Monsters,” (from which this song comes) written by Lijoi, to be presented by Centastage in September 2006.
Enormous life is pumped into these songs by the talented and likeable singers, Bob De Vivo (recently of “On the Twentieth Century”), Aimee Doherty (a wonderful Cinderella in the New Rep’s “Into the Woods”), and Lisa Korak (a veteran of the SpeakEasy’s “BatBoy, the Musical”). De Vivo shines in each of his songs, seeming natural in a cabaret setting, and always being present, even, ironically, in the ode to not being present, “I Wish I Was Here.” Doherty, a beautiful young woman with a silky soprano, who is always a standout in musical theater productions, seems like a fish out of water on a cabaret stage. Still Doherty managed some fine moments in “Everything but Love,” and in a riveting duet with De Vivo on “That’s What I Would Do.” The standout among the principal cast is clearly Korak, whose open face, and versatile acting ability just commands your attention at every turn. She tears down the house in the side-splitting romp, “Lili Gandolfi’s Driving Song” then only a few songs later creates a hush over the room with her poignantly sung “My Backyard” that elicited sighs first from the audience, then a rousing ovation.

Read a review of the New York reading