The Musical Stage Company’s Uncovered series is a staple on Toronto stages. Each instalment of the theatre-y concert/concert-y theatre fundraiser famously reinterprets a different massive artist (or artists)’s songbook with the help of big name and up-and-coming talent. The central recipe still works: great singers (at least a couple each year who are too big of “gets” to sign up for a run of a full show but are able to participate here because it’s just a handful of performances) + beloved songs + creative music direction that keeps the audience on their toes= a fun evening of nostalgia, surprise, and streamlined pleasantness.

A musical theatre company at heart, Musical Stage Co started the series focused on story-driven songwriters whose work translated really well when embodied by performers who were used to acting through song. The appeal wasn’t just in the vocals but in the creative arrangements and musical theatre-style storytelling created from familiar radio catalogues. Nearly twenty years in, it feels a little bit as though the premise is becoming strained. Madonna and Cher’s inherent theatricality makes it seem as though their music will lend itself well to the Uncovered treatment but the hyper-pop nature of their songs often makes for repetitive lyrics that lack story depth and arranger/orchestrator/music supervisor Kevin Wong falls back too consistently on the trick of simply slowing down a fan favourite dance track and adding violin to attempt to mine the work for profundity. This trick works brilliantly the first time he uses it (on Madonna’s “Crazy for You” delivered beautifully and oh-so-slowly by Jeigh Madjus) but grows repetitive quickly. Perhaps it’s because the titular singers are not really known as songwriters (Madonna has a co-credit on some of her featured material and a single solo credit, Cher has none) but it doesn’t feel as though investigating these songbooks really uncovers anything at all about the artists themselves and not enough is done in the transitions to explore the thematic connections between them. The show’s biggest attempt at dramatic impact comes with Jackie Richardson’s interpretation of “Papa Don’t Preach”. Her vocals have as much stirring intensity and richness as they ever have but the performance comes off as far too melodramatic. These are ultimately light songbooks led by women whose careers were marked largely by vivacious fun. In the search for depth, a lot of the fun disappears here.

Which is not to say the show doesn’t come with a few transcendent moments. The diversity of skill set and style among the cast is a real strength and Steven Page’s contrasting approach is a breath of fresh air as he strips the glitter away from Cher’s iconic “If I Could Turn Back Time” to deliver a simple guitar version that’s sincere but never dour.  Wong has also smartly identified Madonna’s masterpiece “Like a Prayer” as the deserving centrepiece of the evening, placing his standout upbeat group arrangement in the crucial pre-intermission spot. The show is at its absolute best in this shining moment that accomplishes everything the Uncovered series sets out to do and has historically done: great vocals singing a great song like it hasn’t been sung before.