David Shrubsole at piano and Simon Green (photo credit: Heidi Bohnenkamp
“There are probably greater painters than Noel, greater
novelists than Noel, greater librettists, composers of music, singers, greater
dancers, comedians, tragedians, stage producers, film directors, cabaret
artists and TV stars. If there are, they are twelve different people. Only one
man combined all twelve labels - The Master.” - quote (that begins and ends the
show) from Lord Louis Mountbatten.
The audience for this intimate entertainment is seated, or
rather squeezed, around small cocktail tables in presumably the smallest space at
59E59. The thought of survival in an emergency becomes a question even before
the start of Simon Green’s otherwise reverential and rewarding cabaret-styled
act in adoration of the ascribed “master” of all things theatrical Sir Noel
Coward. It takes only a minute to forget that you feel as if (as my companion
described it) “we’ve been stuffed into an ice-cube tray” and surrender to selections
mainly taken from Coward’s letters, prose, poetry, and diaries and of course
his plentiful canon of songs, purposely chosen for their unfamiliarity than we
might otherwise expect.
Mr. Green is a tall, nice-looking gentleman with a poise,
presence and demeanor that is tailor-made (liked that snazzy vest) to represent,
if not impersonate, the aura of Sir Noel as he segues from text to tune (a
couple of dozen) with artful and obligatory precision. Green sings well enough and
at times very well, indeed.
It is, however, in the subtext of Green’s special material
and in his exemplary performance that we see Coward’s views of a changing world.
This is most evident in his ability to give some of the sharp turns and clever twists
in the mostly mirthful lyrics a touch of melancholy. Such brittle and, indeed, comical
ditties as “What’s Going to Happen to the Tots,” and “I’ve Been to a Marvelous
Party” and “I’m Here for a Short Visit” suddenly become astute social commentaries
even as they remain insistently quaint.
Green gets major and marvelous assist from his accompanist
and composer David Shrubsole who doesn’t miss a beat following Green’s breezy and
purposely fluid narrative. Shrubsole’s own lilting music and lyrics are woven seamlessly
into the program that also somewhat mysteriously but not without intent,
interpolates songs by Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and Cole Porter and the less
known Ivor Novello, with the latter the closest to him in sentiment if not snap.
The opportunity for Green to snap came during his performance
at the Sunday matinee I attended when a woman seated in the first row continued
to talk during a song. Green stopped and glared at her and then gently asked
her “Is anything wrong ...(silence) You’re speaking. I’m doing a show.” He apologized
to the audience and brought us back to Coward’s world without a ripple. A line
from one of the amusing songs contributed by Shrubsole defined that moment
beautifully: “Everybody thinks they’re someone, including me.”
"Life is For Living: Conversations with Coward" at 59E59 through January 1, 2017
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