Class Act

The term living legend gets thrown around cavalierly, so it’s soothing to know there are people the title actually fits. Barbara Cook is among these rarities.

Although her name probably evokes a “Who?” from even culturally savvy crowds, Cook (who is 75 but looks 60) ranks beside Chita Rivera and Elaine Stritch as a golden name in any theatrical hall of fame. After her Broadway debut in 1951’s Flahooey, she went on to originate roles in The Music Man, Candide and She Loves Me. And Stephen Sondheim devotees consider her renditions of some of his songs — especially “Losing My Mind” — definitive.

It was, in fact, a Sondheim interview in The New York Times Magazine a couple of years back that formed the nucleus of her hit show Mostly Sondheim, which comes to town Saturday night through William Jewel College’s Harriman Arts Program. Prompted by the article’s author, Sondheim admitted to a lengthy list of songs he wished he’d written. Cook wrapped her mastery of the Sondheim catalog around some of these songs, and a Tony-nominated one-woman show was born.

The extraordinary part of Cook’s visit is that she’s not just performing — she’s sharing her expertise. When Cook comes to Kansas City, she’ll conduct a master class at Quality Hill Playhouse, where she’ll work with local singers (professionals, such as Melinda MacDonald and Phil Fiorini, as well as untested students). “I’ve learned a few things over the years and want to pass that on,” Cook says.

Mostly, they’ll work on lessons of the heart — as it’s used to deliver a song across the footlights, anyway. “No one ever taught me that,” Cook says. “I’ve always been interested in singing things rather purely, [but] I don’t know where that came from. When I was starting out in New York, it occurred to me that if I could find a way to present the essence of me, I could find who I was and present that. Then there could be no competition.”

Of that competition, Cook says, “There are singers who have wonderful techniques, who can do amazing things, and I admire what they do, but I’m not moved by it. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, I think, that’s wonderful stuff but who are you?”

Fiorini, who will appear in the Unicorn’s next show (the musical Bat Boy), says he’s a huge Cook fan and is thrilled about being selected for her master-class roster. Asked if he’s scared to perform under her watchful eye and ear, he says, “I am, but what’s the worst she could say? ‘Get out of the business’? I already hear that every day in my head.”

Fellow Cook student Melinda MacDonald — a voice teacher by day — says she’s keeping the opportunity in perspective. “I just remind myself she’s just a performer; she’s just going to help me learn something.” The eager pupil notes that she isn’t going for the purpose of putting Cook on a pedestal — adding that Cook is already on a pedestal, anyway.