Review: Ella Mae Dixon Swings Through Broadway at 54 Below
The singer rocked the house on May 10 with SWINGIN’ SHOWTUNES
Barely a year after making her 54 Below debut, Ella Mae Dixon returned with a new show, Swingin’ Showtunes!, in front of a fairly full house on May 10.
The Wellfleet, Massachusetts native comes from surprising musical stock: her mother, vocalist Settie Dixon, toured in her eponymous rock band Settie in the ’90s.
The Matt Baker Trio, consisting of pianist/music director and arranger Matt Baker, bassist Michael O’Brien, and drummer Daniel Glass, provided superb accompaniment for Dixon.
The blonde singer appeared in an emerald dress with long white gloves affixed with feathers, kicking off with a “showbiz medley” of Broadway songs that served as a kind of vocal overture, establishing that this would be a different kind of show for Dixon. Here, she combined her love of jazz with her passion for the Golden Age of musical theater, utilizing the language of jazz.
Dixon, normally reticent about her private life, was unusually open and vulnerable at this show, speaking of unexpected loss in the form of death and a broken friendship, and finding that musical theater gave her a sense of safety and solace.
A terrific “dreams medley,” centered on the “I had a dream” opening to “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from Gypsy (Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim), found its emotional core in “The Road You Didn’t Take” from Follies (Sondheim). Dixon ended with a “big belt finish” that, if not quite Ethel Merman, served the piece well.
Dixon really straddled jazz and power Broadway singing with a powerful “There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame” from South Pacific (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II).
HAIR (Galt MacDermot/James Rado/Gerome Ragni) was the musical that first bridged for Dixon the worlds of her musical theater passion and her rock-and-roll mom. Singing “Aquarius” from that score, she approached it like a slow power ballad at first, until the phrase “harmony and understanding,” at which point it took on a rock beat. She eventually brought it to a jazzy feel, even scatting at one point, until Daniel Glass rocked it out.
Dixon became even more personal and vulnerable, speaking of discovering and coming to terms with her sexuality as a gay woman. “I found myself looking up ‘Susan Sarandon young.’” She was fortunate to have very accepting, supportive parents. Her empathy for a friend who did not have such support led her to choose a song about forbidden love. “We Kiss in a Shadow” from The King and I (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II) was her best performance of the night. It was sung beautifully, with sensitivity and feeling. When she sang the word “sigh,” you could feel it. “Somewhere” from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim), also about forbidden love, proved the perfect pairing.
The rising star brought up the great Nicolas King for a fun duet of “Guys and Dolls” (Frank Loesser) from the show of the same name. King elevates any show he appears in. In what appeared to be an impromptu moment, King playfully matched Dixon when she threw in some Veronica Swift-like vocal nuances. This number was a major show highlight.
Dixon’s take on another dream song, the gorgeous ballad “A Quiet Thing” from Flora the Red Menace (John Kander/Fred Ebb), was one of her best of the night.
It took a medley of the decidedly non-jazz standards “Show Me” from My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe) and songs from The King and I for Dixon to show off her jazz chops, with plenty of scat singing, notably during a section matching Baker’s solo. This medley seemed most to match the stated intention of the show.
Dixon has a good voice, excellent phrasing, an expressive face and a confident Stage Presence. Her stories were warm and honest. With excellent charts by Baker and a strong performance from his trio, this was a satisfying appearance.
For more information on Ella Mae Dixon, visit www.ellamaedixon.com.
For more great shows at 54 Below, visit www.54below.org.
Photos: Andrew Poretz except where indicated
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