As twilight segued into evening behind the huge picture windows of the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the stars inside offered a musical tribute to Broadway/Jazz composer Cy Coleman. Michael Feinstein, singing host/director narrated details of Coleman’s brilliant seventy year career (three Tony’s and a host of popular song standards.)
Joining Feinstein onstage were musical director Ted Firth and four top flight vocalists. Johnny Rodgers, a blast of impish energy fused with vocal/ piano chops and savvy showmanship, ignited jazz/Broadway standards: “I’ve Got Your Number” “The Best Is Yet to Come” and Will Rogers’ anthem “I Never met a Man I Didn’t Like.” Chuck Cooper, Tony Award Winner for The Life (Coleman’s portrayal of a pre-Disney, pimp-infested Times Square) brought the devil back from hell with his sinister rendition of the bluesy “Don’t Take Much.” Michele Lee, Tony-Nominated for her role in Coleman’s See Saw, played a funny, feisty, fallen angel – in recovery from an affair with a married man. A be-gowned Tamara Tunie (from TV’s Law and Order) belted “Big Spender” (Sweet Charity) and torched “He’s No Good (But I’m No Good Without Him)” an ode to the sweet misery of co-dependency.
Backstage, Johnny Rodgers shared details about his life and career with genial, boyish charm (“I always sang. My big brother threw pencils as me to get me to stop but it didn’t work.”) His big sister (also musical) wore down their parents’ resistance to buying a piano by drawing one on cardboard and pretending to practice, so Johnny got to play a real one – and still does, bouncing back and forth on stage from piano to vocal mike, and writing, performing and recording original songs ( including “I Would Never Leave You” for Liza Minelli). Born, raised, and trained in Miami (his grooves put the heat in Miami Heat), Johnny got noticed on the Chicago cabaret circuit, travels the world as a musical ambassador for the State Department, and is poised to conquer the New York Cabaret and Jazz scene (next stop – a June 5 musical birthday party at the Iridium (1650 Broadway @ 51st , NYC 212-582-2122)
As the stars faded into the night sky and the traffic on Columbus Circle orbited twinkling head and tail lights outside the theatrical windows of this elegant jazz room, I thought about how far we’ve come – not only from the nostalgically seedy version of Times Square portrayed in Coleman’s The Life but also from the backwoods juke joints and New Orleans brothels that gave birth to the blues and Cy Coleman’s Broadway/jazz.
Happiness/Success Habits
Do What You Love: I love songs, singers, theatre, jazz and cabaret – that’s a major reason I write this blog. What do you love?
Enjoy torch songs – but don’t live them! A great song and singer are as seductive as chocolate truffles. But that helpless yearning for no-goodniks is not much fun in real life! On the other hand, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “I’m In Love with a Wonderful Guy” doesn’t lend itself to bluesy jazz. Is the song worth the suffering? Personally, I like my bittersweet in blues and chocolate truffles – not romance. How ’bout you?
Review by Dr. Susan Horowitz www.drsue.com, CD “Keys of Love” www.cdbaby.com/drsue Book: “Queens of Comedy” (essays and interviews with legendary comediennes – Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller.)
At the Theatre Museum Awards Gala, there were stars in everyone’s eyes –musical performers, award presenters, and award recipients – notably Stage Door Manor – a performing arts camp that presents an astonishing thirty-nine shows (plays and musicals) a season! Presenting the award was Richard Maltby, Jr. who conceived and directed two Tony-Award winning musicals (Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Fosse) and, as lyricist, co-created Tony-nominated Baby and Big – along with two gifted daughters, who are Stage Door Manor alum. Konnie Kittrell, accepting the Theatre Arts Education Award for owner Cynthia Samuelson, glowed: “Stage Door Manor is designed to create a community where dreams are shared and validated – a safe place for dreams to soar!”
The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts celebrated Duke’s 113th birthday with a swingin’ blast at the historic Players Club in New York City. On stage was a twelve piece jazz orchestra directed by Frank Owens on piano with vocalists (Antoinette Montague and Marion Cowings).
high-energy swing (The Mickey Davidson Swing Dancers)!
tapping syncopations (Alexander Cowings)!
ballroom grace (Michael Choi and his “peachy” partner)!
The Enrico Caruso Room in Little Italy’s historic Grotta Azzurra Ristorante opened with operatic panache this week – and will continue with a weekly Tuesday evening series by featured duos plus Thursday night open mikes (with preference to advance sign-ups) all with the wonderful David Schaeffer on keyboards. After a delizioso dinner in the restaurant above, we descended into depths of the musical cellar and ascended to the heights of glorious opera – in a setting that was both warm and elegant.
Did you know that Enrico Caruso, the Italian-born tenor who ruled the international opera world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was the best-selling recording artist in the world in 1906? His acoustic recording of his theme song from the opera I Pagliacci outsold all concert and pop singers of the time? Neither did I, but this “homey” presentation of opera will your expand your cultural horizons, as the delizioso Italian food at the Grotta Azzurra Ristorante expands your um-waistline! Producers Mort Berkowitz and Les Schecter also host opera competitions and hope that the Thursday open mikes will offer “discovery” opportunities for young opera stars to be featured in the paid Tuesday night spots. I raise my glass of good Italian vino (wine) to their buona fortuna (good luck)!
Hunter Parrish, a twenty-four year old who is playing Jesus in the revival of Godspell asked himself: “How do I emulate someone like that? Everyone has his own idea of Jesus. For two hour period, I play Jesus as a cool, young teacher – which he was!”
Review by Dr. Susan Horowitz 
