L to R: Charenee Wade, Allan Harris, Cyrille Aimee
Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg
If there was one nightclub that stood out as it also stood
for something quite unique during the 1930s and 1940s, it was Cafe Society. It
was there, beginning in 1938 and for the next eleven years, that many of the finest
and most celebrated black and white jazz singers and musicians as well as
theatre comics and satirists not only shared the spotlight but shared their
artistry with an integrated audience. This nightclub was a dream that was to be
fully realized for its entrepreneurial former shoe salesman from New Jersey
Barney Josephson. As a socially and politically progressive Jew, Josephson would
be, as was his more activist brother, an inevitable target of The House
Un-American Committee.
While his club earned a reputation as a Commie hangout during
the "Red Scare," Jacobson was, nevertheless, fervently committed to
providing a hospitable, intimate space for the showcasing and the co-mingling
of celebrities, luminaries and, dignitaries - - - a space where a stepping-out
Eleanor Roosevelt, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, Errol Flynn and
Lauren Bacall the former Betty Perske would stop in to see such performers as Lena
Horne, Billie Holiday, Hazel Scott, Mildred Bailey, Count Basie, Paul Robeson,
Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford.
Cafe Society was fabled as "the wrong place for the
right people," but 59E59 Theaters is exactly the right place for this small-scaled,
but big-hearted bio-revue written by Alex Webb (based on "Cafe Society:
the Wrong Place for the Right People" by Barney Josephson and Terry
Trilling-Josephson) in which four splendid singers are teamed with eight
terrific musicians. A narrative thread is provided by an engaging Evan Pappas as
Josephson and on occasion by superb guitarist and singer Allan Harris. The
thread may not be as strong or as stirring as one might like considering the
swirling history and events of the time, but Pappas also get to portray credibly
a head-line seeking journalist and a commiserating barkeep. These characters
contribute to the atmosphere and back story for twenty-two musical numbers.
It's what's between the lines that really matters, however, and
that's where the singers make the songs count and account for something a
little different from what you might expect. The big band sound is prominent throughout
with standout playing from Benny Benack III on trumpet, Harris on guitar, Bill
Todd on alto sax and Clarinet and Alex Webb on piano, with the distaff side
represented by Mimi Jones on bass, Lucianna Padmore on drums and Camille
Thurman on tenor sax. Upbeat instrumentals are well balanced with the predominantly
bluesy tempos of the vocals.
Another plus is the exceedingly cool, unhurried staging of
each segment by director Simon Green. What was especially appreciated and
enjoyed was the integration of many songs with which I was not familiar but were
clearly intended to enrich our experience. Six Deco panels designed by David
Woodhead also enrich the otherwise simple bandstand setting that also makes accommodation
for a small office and a bar.
No need or reasons for impersonations of Lena Horne, Queen
Ida Cox, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Billie Holiday from singers Charenee Wade,
Cyrille Aimee, Allan Harris and, indeed, Pappas, who impress with their own and
very fine interpretations of the classic jazz repertoire. The closest number to
a show-stopper is Aimee's joyously animated version of the famed Nellie Lutcher
hit "Hurry On Down." Other highlights include trumpeter Benack taking
the vocal spot to commemorate Josh White's famed protest song "One
Meatball" and Webb leaving the ivory to embrace Billy Strayhorn's
"Lush Life" with his own velvety voice. But if there is one moment
and one number that defines Cafe Society's impact on our society, and it is "Strange
Fruit," the song that changed Holiday's career when she introduced it. It
serves as a terrific and touching closer.
"Cafe Society Swing"
For tickets ($70) call 212 279 - 4200 or http://www.ticketcentral.com
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