Bob Marin News

Legally Blonde, the Musical is as tuneful and entertaining as any musical could ever hope to be, and while the story seems lighthearted and fun, there's a definite message to be found in Heather Hach's book and the music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Neil Benjamin. Under Adams' laser-sharp direction-that is filled with a lot of heart and her unerring attention to detail-The Keeton Theatre's cast offers up a production of the show that's as good as it gets.

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a show features nine performers, who take audiences back to the 1950s and 1960s with their renditions of many wonderful hits of the rock and roll era. Four of the male singers come together to form a group reminiscent of the two famous quartets Leiber and Stoller wrote for-the Drifters and the Coasters-while other cast members deliver songs made famous by some of the most powerful figures in the world of music, including Elvis Presley, Dion and Big Mama Thornton.

Now onstage at The Larry Keeton Theatre, in a winning production directed by Ginger Newman and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson, Smokey Joe's Cafe offers audiences one of the best nights of theater they'll ever have the pleasure of attending. Seriously! In fact, my love of the musical revue-which features 39 songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who provided much of the soundtrack for the lives led in the middle of the last century-is almost stupefyingly of the adoring variety. Truthfully, I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about Smokey Joe's Cafe that I love so much, but alas, there it is: I love the show without question (hell, I'd marry it if we could get a marriage license down here in the South) and I am particularly in love with the rendition served up by Newman, Adams-Johnson and company out in Donelson.

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a show features nine performers, who take audiences back to the 1950s and 1960s with their renditions of many wonderful hits of the rock and roll era. Four of the male singers come together to form a group reminiscent of the two famous quartets Leiber and Stoller wrote for-the Drifters and the Coasters-while other cast members deliver songs made famous by some of the most powerful figures in the world of music, including Elvis Presley, Dion and Big Mama Thornton.

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a show features nine performers, who take audiences back to the 1950s and 1960s with their renditions of many wonderful hits of the rock and roll era. Four of the male singers come together to form a group reminiscent of the two famous quartets Leiber and Stoller wrote for-the Drifters and the Coasters-while other cast members deliver songs made famous by some of the most powerful figures in the world of music, including Elvis Presley, Dion and Big Mama Thornton.

Ginger Newman and Kate Adams-Johnson have perfected the recipe for musical success: Take three ginger-haired beauties, pair them with three dark and handsome young men and add a musical score that includes some of the best-known and most-beloved songs of the 1930s and '40s. That's the winning formula the talented duo have mixed together to grand effect in The Keeton Theatre's production of The All Night Strut, the winning musical revue that is as effervescent as a glass of champagne and as entertaining as a Manhattan Transfer concert.

In short, Chicago is the best production ever presented by The Keeton Theatre. In fact, it's one of the finest versions of the tuneful musical we've ever seen on any stage, from any production company - and trust me, we've seen a bunch of 'em, ranging from Broadway and national touring companies to mountings from academic theaters, professional regional theaters and community playhouses.

On Sunday May 22 Irish tenor Dennis McNeil made a spectacular debut into the world of cabaret @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. A former opera singer, McNeil has sung for Presidents and in concert venues, including stadiums, around the world, but never in an intimate setting. With the unfailing confidence that marks a true Irishman and with just enough humility to ingratiate himself, McNeil held his audience spellbound with his magnificent vocal range, wide variety of selections and warm anecdotes about his association with such luminaries as composer Sammy Cahn and musician Lalo Schifrin. Backed by stellar pianist Ed Martel as musical director and Bob Marino on drums and Bill Dixon on bass, whom he affectionately referred to as the Killer Bs, McNeil was a huge success in his show entitled Me and My Big Mouth, under the guidance of fine consulting director Joe Giamalva.

Award winning tenor Dennis McNeil was the 1993 National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. As a leading tenor at the New York City Opera he was awarded the Richard F. Gold Career Award for his portrayal as ‘Mark' in their New York Stage Premiere of Michael Tippet's A Midsummer Marriage. He also holds first place awards from the Southern California Opera Guild and the Victor Fuchs Memorial Competition and was a recipient of the Emily Baratelli Memorial Award from the New York Opera Index. He is a Sullivan Grant Recipient as well as a recipient of a Rex Foundation Grant from the Grateful Dead. On Sunday May 22 he will completely switch gears and perform a cabaret act @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's.

Award winning tenor Dennis McNeil was the 1993 National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. As a leading tenor at the New York City Opera he was awarded the Richard F. Gold Career Award for his portrayal as ‘Mark' in their New York Stage Premiere of Michael Tippet's A Midsummer Marriage. He also holds first place awards from the Southern California Opera Guild and the Victor Fuchs Memorial Competition and was a recipient of the Emily Baratelli Memorial Award from the New York Opera Index. He is a Sullivan Grant Recipient as well as a recipient of a Rex Foundation Grant from the Grateful Dead. On Sunday May 22 he will completely switch gears and perform a cabaret act @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's.