Everyman's 'Broadway Boys' Cabaret

            What a week for Everyman Theatre!  First, there was the triumphant opening of The School for Scandal and second, there was the great news that Everyman will be part of the Westside renewal, opening at the Town Theatre in a few seasons.  Now, the company is embarking on a new venture – cabaret.  Their first entry in this realm is an evening of songs by male musical composers, aptly titled "Broadway Boys."  The obvious choice, Stephen Sondheim gets his very own cabaret in the spring.  The other obvious choice, Rodgers and Hammerstein is surprisingly, though thankfully, missing from the evening.  Richard and Oscar get more than their fair share in local theatre, in my humble opinion.  (And a HUGE thank you for leaving out Andrew Lloyd Weber!)  The "boys" that are included are the tried and true – Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin and John Kander and Fred Ebb (plus one number from Jason Robert Brown, this generation's Sondheim) which more than covers the 20^th century in terms of musical theatre.

            The evening, directed and co-starring Judy Simmons, is a fine enough affair, if a little bland.  Ms. Simmons was ill the evening I attended, and the song list was adjusted, with the remaining players taking over some of her numbers.  Interestingly enough, the entire show is NOT made up of standards; instead, the canons of these composers were clearly fully examined, though the reason for some of the selections remains a mystery.  The concept of the evening is perhaps its downfall – there doesn't seem to be a recurring theme, and none of the between song patter attempts to string the songs together.  The patter is also a problem, at times feeling a little too off the cuff, at other times a little too schmaltzy, particularly the forced and very uncomfortable audience participation dialogue.  This must be a personal issue with this reviewer, as the rest of the audience seemed to lap it up like cream.

            The songs, however, are what we really came to hear, and all 27 or so of them are very professionally performed.  Does that mean they were all good? No, but they were certainly done with quality in mind.  Musical director Andrew Stewart also accompanies the cast on the piano, and his skills with the ivories are top notch.  He plays with a flourish, but never pulls focus from the main action.  Not that there is a ton of action – the songs are mostly done standing still at a microphone, and the non-singers sit stoically in the background, in tastefully arranged furniture (which looks fabulous against Daniel Ettinger's beautiful set for Scandal).

All three performers, Sherri L. Edelen (a Helen Hayes Award-winning actress), James Garland (making his Everyman debut) and Stan Weiman (Everyman company member) have their triumphs and their failures during the evening.  Ms. Edelman is clearly comfortable in a cabaret setting.  She acts each song nicely and knows how to parcel out her wide range of vocal stylings such that she builds within a song and surprises with each number.  In Act One she does a fantastic rendition of "So In Love", and contributes nicely to the act closing "Fascinating Rhythm/I Got Rhythm" duet (with Mr. Garland).  She is particularly great, though, in Act Two, with a pair of Kander and Ebb songs, "How Lucky Can You Get" and "The World Goes 'Round".  Mr. Weiman, though not the strongest vocally, clearly knows his strengths and is a good enough actor/performer to make his shortcomings minimized and actually makes them work.  He does a very nice job with "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise", and is appropriately cute with "Oh Gee! Oh, Joy!"  He was less effective with both of his act two solos, "Swanee" and "From This Moment On." 

The real enigma of the show, though, was Mr. Garland.  He is a walking contradiction.  At all times he has a lovely voice, but always seems to be holding back.  Half the time when he is not the focus of the moment he looks bored and somewhere else, while the other half of the time he seems so into it, he nearly steals the scene.  Acting-wise he also runs hot and cold.  In the lone number by Jason Robert Brown, "If I Didn't Believe In You," Garland delivers passion and pathos.  But in the number "Mr. Cellophane", he chews the scenery, which, of course, is completely against what that song is about.  (It is interesting to note that that song garnered the most murmurs of recognition from the decidedly more senior crowd in attendance, and not the Gershwin or Porter stuff.)  Overall, the evening is made up of more slow numbers than catchy tunes, giving the show an air of somberness, which I am sure was not the intention.

            For a first attempt at an evening of cabaret, Everyman is to be commended, and I look forward to many more such events.  But one hopes for something a little edgier and contemporary or more original when going with the standards.  To quote a song by two of the "boys" that was not included, but maybe should have been, Broadway Boys needs a little more razzle-dazzle.