Review: JOHN CLAY III Delivers Powerful Debut Performance At The Green Room 42

There are two schools of thought on cabaret shows and the sharing of personal information.  There are those who believe that an artist should park and bark at the microphone and sing a set designed to entertain.  Then there are those who believe that, leaving the club after the show, the audience should know the headliner, at least a little.  Both of these formats are acceptable and valuable in the small venues of cabaret and concert (also the large venues), and it is always up to the artist standing center stage to decide exactly what their show will present.  

When John Clay III stepped up onto the stage at The Green Room 42 (cleverly being called The Green Room 42.0 after a recent “facelift”), on August 28th, he remarked that he was going to share his story, but he also advised that people shouldn’t assume that they “know” him, afterward, an interesting observation, since there was considerable evidence that all of the guests of the venue did, in fact, already know the gentleman late of Broadway’s New York, New York.  The audience appeared to consist of family and of dear friends from his life as a New Yorker and his life as an actor.  Everywhere a person looked in the solidly packed nightclub, during the eighty minute performance, one could see facial expressions that went beyond those of a fan enjoying a fine night of entertainment by an actor they admire. These were the beaming smiles and misty eyes of people watching a loved one rise to his artistic occasion, which is precisely what John Clay III did during this solo show debut.

For the outing, Mr. Clay clearly put in some effort and did some homework, arriving with a fully fleshed script broken down into three chapters titled FORMATION, DICHOTOMY, and ABUNDANCE that he set up, mapped out, and executed for his audience, like a sort of storytime for the sophisticated set of New York City… also the emotionally accessible and adventurous, for Clay’s patrons held nothing back in their willingness to go where he wanted to take them, and their ability to react naturally to the storytelling.  The exchange of energy between the gentleman and the congregation was palpable and it was electrifying, as he painted, with words and with at times unbelievable vocal prowess, the pictures of his childhood in church and in Chicago, the blossoming of his artistry in University, and the structuring of a life that feeds his soul.  Like an author and orator, JC3 introduced the listeners to his kinfolk with such skill that audience members were nodding their heads and making their approval and agreements audible, in order to fan the flames of that exchange of energy.  Welcoming his band members and backup singers into the story, John Clay III created scenes and characters through his writing and performance, and through the carefully selected music that placed the audience in his childhood home, in his spiritual upbringing, and in his musical influences.  Moving deftly and distinctively through his chapters and his life story, Mr. Clay outlined the joys and the tragedies of university life, family loss, career achievement, and the creation of family, both in the form of his tribe of artists and friends, and the formation of his wedded union, mere months old, and so powerful as to pull him right off of the stage and into the audience so that he might kneel before his wife and sing some tantalizing and tumultuous Luther Vandross right to her, as the crowd went wild and fifty phones flew into the air to document the moment of simultaneous reality and fantasy.  When it comes to the art of sharing his life story and himself with a room full of strangers, John Clay III was unflinchingly fearless, boldly open, and undauntedly determined.  Whether speaking the words of his creatively crafted and redoubtably rehearsed script, or expertly expressing himself through song in an impressively eclectic variety of styles from bonafide Broadway (“Hey There”) to r&b (“U Move, I Move,” performed as a duet with Meecah), John Clay III provided his audience with a perfect and professional night of cabaret theater, at all times surprising in the range of depth in his accessibility and his aptitude, particularly during his finale “Painted On Canvas,” which lived up to the concept of saving the best for last.

Directed with dignity and a full sense of theatrical beats by Siddiq Saunderson, and Musical Directed with precision and panache by Richard Baskin Jr., this debut cabaret by an artist most welcome to the industry was a slice of heaven and humanity in its artistry and authenticity, employing a magnificent cast of musical artists backing up Clay, from start to finish, and a very special cast of guest stars who came to embody perhaps a person, maybe a mood, and, at all times, a visual representation of the connection one can build with members of the community.  Whether dueting with Mykal Kilgore on “How Glory Goes” or Myha’la on “It Don’t Matter,” there was a discernible element of the personal between the colleagues, almost as though the audience had stumbled upon a private moment between friends.  And when Mr. Clay yielded the stage to Rachel Webb for a killer “Need U Bad” or to Marcus Gladney Jr. for an exciting “Something About The Rain,” he could be observed sitting in the bentside of the piano, eyes locked on his guest soloist, not just appreciating their skill but listening to their story, tacitly telling the audience to listen, too.  But at no time was the sense of community more deeply felt than when John Clay III, discussing his New York, New York experience, announced that he would sing his favorite song from the score, a song titled “Light”  that starts, in the play, as his solo and segues into an epic company anthem.  And, as he performed this favorite song, in ones and twos the members of the New York, New York company that were present rose at their tables, raising their voices in unison and in harmony, as they had done for one hundred forty three performances, in a tear-inducing, heart-swelling moment that, for the second time in the evening, had the audience reaching for their phones to record an unforgettable moment of cabaret theater.

“I ain’t nothin’ without my community.”  So sayeth John Clay III, or, at least, that’s what he said during his solo show debut at The Green Room 42.  And that may, well, be true insomuch as he is acknowledging the role filled by a lifetime of support from kin and friends and teachers and family born into and family made.  And if it is true that this star on the rise is nothing without his community, then a lot of people were patting themselves on the back the morning after this performance because it was one of the most authentic and honest solo shows, one of the best-written and efficiently performed concerts this writer has seen from a debut artist this or any other year.  John Clay III may suggest that audiences might not really know him after one of his shows, but a person doesn’t have to really know John Clay III - all they have to do is buy the ticket, sit back, and take the ride.  They won’t be sorry.

The John Clay III show was produced by Evan Schild and Katy Zapanta.

The John Clay III band is Andrew Latona on Guitar, Jaylenn Petinaud on Drums, and Nolan Nwachukwu on Bass

Find other shows to see on the Green Room 42 website HERE.

Visit the John Clay III Instagram page HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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