If you’ve been lucky enough to see Indecent or The Band’s Visit, you’d know there isn’t a performer on Broadway today who could match the sultry magnetism of Katrina Lenk, something that’s apparent even when she’s performing a part she’d never really get to play. At MCC Theater’s annual Miscast Gala, where Broadway performers get a chance to take on songs they’d never be cast to perform in their traditional context, Lenk brought the crowd to a standing ovation with her performance of Fiddler on the Roof’s “If I Were Rich Man,†complete with fiddle. The sheer variety of her giggles and laughs alone is something to behold.
Other highlights from the night included Jeremy Jordan’s performance of “She Used to Be Mine†from Waitress; Frozen’s Caissie Levy singing The Last Five Years’ “Shiksa Goddessâ€; Auli’i Cravalho doing her best Tony from West Side Story; a trio of actors from the SpongeBob musical performing Company; and Sara Bareilles singing Ragtime’s “Make Them Hear You.†Aside from Lenk, the most charming performance of the night might’ve come from Jayne Houdyshell, who sang “It Only Takes a Moment†to the night’s big honoree, her A Doll’s House, Part 2 scene partner Laurie Metcalf. In her acceptance speech, Metcalf herself joked that she dreams of starring in a Broadway show, but the fact that she can’t sing holds her back. Someone make her perform something at Miscast next year.