Review: THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY at Southern Theatre

After a performance of THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY at the Southern Theatre on Feb. 10, a octogenarian fan blocked the path of Brendan Jacob Smith, who plays Art Garfunkel, from getting to the merchandise table. “You are probably too young to have seen Simon and Garfunkel,” he said to Smith. “I just want to tell you. You nailed him, everything from the way he sang to the way he stood.”

Perhaps there is no greater compliment for Smith and Jonah Bobo (who plays Paul Simon).

The problem with most tribute bands is this: They either try too hard to sound like the band but they don’t look anything like them or they try too hard to look like the band but can’t match them musically. The worst are the ones who seem to get lost in the goofy wigs and trippy outfits and try to convince the audience they ARE the act.

Bobo and Smith are a truly rare combination. They look and play the part to perfection, but they never lose a sense of who they are. The two offer a history lesson in the careers and the impact of Simon and Garfunkel, and yet they tell their story as an outsider with great reverence for the subject. “We were told in high school, ‘Man, you two look like Simon and Garfunkel,’” Smith said to the nearly sold-out audience at the 933-seat concert hall. “We figured we’d better start learning their music.”

The story of Smith and Bobo is similar to that of Simon and Garfunkel. The latter met during an elementary school production of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Smith and Bobo were high school chums, who spent lunch breaks harmonizing with each other. Bobo and Smith’s vocals are so intertwined it is hard to tell which voice belongs to whom. One of the best moments in the show was when Bobo began the opening stanzas of a solo version of “I am a Rock” and then Smith joined him on stage without missing a beat. Smith and Bobo imitated the pair’s fashion sense throughout the show, going from their shirt and tie look when they became popular to the turtleneck era to the suits and t-shirt eon of the 1990s.

They mastered Simon and Garfunkel’s mannerisms. Smith stood with his hands in pockets and gave his best Garfunkel lost-in-the-moment stare while Bobo brought Simon’s goofy, playful energy to the show. Smith’s solo on “A Bridge Over Troubled Waters” is one of the highlights of the set. The spectacular four-piece band of Marc Encabo (keyboards and percussion), Billy Harrington (drums), Jay Hemphill (bass), and Joshua Vasquez (guitar) round out the sound.

THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY was also a visual masterpiece. The musical utilizes a movie screen to illustrate what Bobo and Smith are singing about. Clips of Woodstock, the Tupperware ads, and student protests are juxtaposed with President Richard Nixon’s and Martin Luther King’s speeches. Pairing “Scarborough Fair” with footage from the Vietnam War was bone-chilling. A trippy collage of images conveyed the chemically induced nature of “Feelin’ Groovy” and “Patterns.”

Smith and Bobo retrace Simon and Garfunkel’s twisted path to the top of the pop charts. The two began their career as Tom and Jerry, an Everly brothers’ clone. After playing the duo’s first single, “Hey, Schoolgirl,” a sugary pop music confection that is instantly forgettable, Bobo told the audience, “Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard it. Nobody else did either.”

After a second failed album, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” this time as Simon and Garfunkel, Simon headed to England as a solo performer. He recorded the album, “The Paul Simon Songbook,” bare-boned versions of what would later become Simon and Garfunkel standards. Among them are “Kathy’s Song” and “The Leaves Are Green.”

 Hearing Bobo and Smith tell the story, one realizes how much of Simon and Garfunkel’s success came by determination and how much came by chance. Had it not been for a disc jockey playing a re-recording of “Sounds of Silence” with full instrumentation, Simon may have remained an expatriate folk singer in England and Garfunkel would have continued his studies at Columbia. The rediscovered tune eventually sauntered up the charts to number one. Hearing of the song’s success, Simon abandoned his solo tour and reunited with Garfunkel to produce a cavalcade of hits.

The only criticism is that the show doesn’t delve into what led to the break-up when the two were at the peak of their popularity. THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY chose to focus on the body of work rather than the soap opera that went along with it. After reaching the point in the story where Simon and Garfunkel break apart after 1970, Smith and Bobo exited the stage in separate directions.

The band provided instrumental versions of Simon’s solo hits (“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and “You Can Call Me Al”) while the video screen showed what happened in the lives of the estranged duo leading to the historic reunion concert in Central Park. (Fun fact: right after the pair broke up, Garfunkel taught high school math before starting work as an actor.)

Bobo and Smith found a way to present Simon and Garfunkel’s music and story without the pretense of being the two singers. They respect what Simon and Garfunkel accomplished. And that should be enough to keep fans, both the ones who were there and the ones who had to watch it on YouTube, feelin’ groovy.