Review: SUMMER CABARET SERIES: CELEBRATING TOM JONES WITH DAVID BURNHAM at CVRep

When I was a kid, I’d come home after school, immediately turn on the tv and watch Sally Starr (the blondest, ponytailed cowgirl in the tristate area) introduce cartoons and episodes of The Three Stooges (not a fan, I’d go get a snack). And then in 1966 Dark Shadows premiered at 4pm on channel 7 and it was “Sally who?” until April 2, 1971 when ABC thrust a stake through its time slot. 

But by the time 1969 rolled around I was a brand new teenager and my puppy love for Quentin the werewolf transformed into real, true, pants-on-fire love when This is Tom Jones premiered on ABC. 

Tuesday night, on the CVRep stage, I saw David Burnham share his own memories of growing up a Tom Jones fan - a little different than mine, I never cosplayed him as a kid as Burnham did for a talent show. Spoiler alert: he didn’t win. But like me, he found Tom Jones to be hella watchable, and tells us early on - this is not a tribute aka an impersonation (even though he is wearing a skin tight silver suit, and has updated Jones’ love of a slender shoe-boot to a studded chunky Doc Martens) but a celebration of him and his music. It’s in the title.

Before we go further, shout out to way more than capable music director Nick Petrillo who not only made the piano sound like an entire movie score, but was a good foil and wingman for Burnham as well. The drums were well-handled by David Johnstone. 

After a pre-show medley Burnham arrives on stage singing “Till” (which should be ‘til) a song that didn’t exactly light me up because I barely remember it. That pretty much fits though because it is here that Burnham lets us know that he is not a Tom Jones impersonator. And that is true. 

Jones has pure animal magnetism - he seems to have been built entirely out of testosterone. Burnham is boyish and charming like Davy Jones from The Monkees, and is literally prince material - he was Fiyero in the original workshops of Wicked, and took over the role on Broadway in 2007; Tom Jones has the presence and grandeur of Mufasa, King of the Lions. But we do love a prince, and Burnham is kinda adorkable in his cabaret.

After some patter and intros, Burnham hits us with a medley that includes movie staples What’s New Pussycat and Thunderball, but opens the medley with an invitation to Help Yourself. 

There was a fun "guess who the guest was" segment from his titular show, and although it was canceled in 1971, Jones has endured. He has stayed relevant for all of his years in the public eye. His version of You Can Leave Your Hat On (Full Monty) is one of the sexiest songs ever recorded, and let’s not forget his terrific version of Prince’s Kiss. 

Burnham may not be Tom Jones, but he can certainly take you to church, and did, when he hits those powerful moments in Green Green Grass, I Who Have Nothing, and his deeply passionate She Believes in Me. 

The thing that felt out of place in this show was actually the opening medley. The one the band played before Burnham entered. That diluted the excitement of Burnham’s entrance - if this had been in Vegas, that probably would have been fine, but it did feel a bit anti-climactic.

There was a bit of sing along - which I feel like we were all expecting because Jones’ hooks are just asking for audience participation, and that was quite gratifying. And Burnham handled a few hiccups with an audience member who was reluctant to participate deftly, and we all got to sing along with the curtain call's Delilah. 

All in all, it’s a fun night celebrating Tom Jones, a man whose music and sex appeal started an entire generation of panty throwing. Mine stayed on, but Burnham has quenched my Jones.