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| "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Last Edit: Marlo*Manners 04:56 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 04:45 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| "Smokey Joe's Café" as you may or may not know was a revue of the songs of Lieber & Stoller that played on Broadway from 1995 to 2000. I saw the show back when and found it enjoyable but remember very little about it. I had the opportunity last Thursday to see a preview of the latest off-Broadway revival directed and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse. This is a perfect summer entertainment and is an enjoyable well-produced evening with strong voices singing familiar pop hits from the 60's made famous by The Drifters, The Coasters, Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Ben E. King, et al. There are nine singers who perform in a bar/café set designed by Beowulf Boritt. It is red brick with a door stage left, a bar and tables and chairs - the band performs in an alcove upstage center right. There are metal stairs that provide multilevel playing areas. The original Broadway production looked much more Vegas/variety show whereas this looks more funky/realistic. Each song is performed as a vignette but there is no dialogue and no real narrative. The songs contrast with each other and there is dancing. Solos with or without backup, duets, quartets, ensembles, etc. The show is 90 minutes with no intermission and is consistently entertaining. There are nine performers, four women and five men (three performers are Caucasian and six are men and women of color). I was especially impressed with the men. Young Jelani Remy was the pop soul tenor singing love ballads like "Young Blood" but channeling a bit of Elvis with "Jailhouse Rock". Dionne Figgins had several of the solos originally performed by Brenda Braxton and also danced - she did not have the strongest voice in the cast but had style and moves well. Emma Degerstedt had the DeLee Lively track shaking that fringed dress in "Teach Me How to Shimmy" and the ballad "Falling" - she has a strong voice but is also an excellent dancer. Kyle Taylor Parker had a lot of comic bits but also has a strong high baritone voice. John Edwards didn't have much to do until the last 30 minutes when he rocked the house with "I Who Have Nothing" and "Stand by Me". Alysha Umphress, who we all remember as Hildy in the last revival of "On The Town", was in amazingly strong voice with some strong solos: "Pearl's a Singer", "Trouble" and "I Keep Forgettin'". Nicole Vanessa Ortiz also had a very strong rangy jazz/blues voice but her diction was less clear than the other women - I struggled to make out the lyrics. Dwayne Cooper with his bass voice took the low lines in the quartets and ensembles but also was a game comic singer in several solos - he was a lot of fun. Max Sangerman not only sang some impressive blue-eyed soul but also was a fine guitar player. I have to say that with several of these performers - Umphress, Sangerman, Edwards and Remy - I wished they had more solos. Several show stoppers. As I said this is an ideal summer entertainment - no story to follow and not too long. Lots of great and familiar tunes sung by strong voices with a crackerjack band onstage. There is a lot of discounting going on right now and I recommend you head over to 42nd Street to catch this revival. Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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| re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:25 am EDT 07/17/18 | |
| In reply to: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - Marlo*Manners 04:45 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| Link | Highlights reel from 'Smokey Joe's Cafe' |
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| re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 06:24 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
| In reply to: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - Marlo*Manners 04:45 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| I believe I saw Emma D. in Desperate Measures. She was wonderful in that. Do you think this revival might break the curse of the theater it's in? I do want to see it at some point. | |
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| re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 06:54 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - lowwriter 06:24 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| Emma is an impressive triple threat. As for the curse on the "Little Shubert", it is a limited run until January 6, 2019. I think its profitability will depend on the budgeting - I don't know what the critics will say but I suspect they don't really influence audiences for this type of show. What I will say is that the show plays well in this kind of medium size space and the sound design is excellent. It is already in very good shape with the cast settled in, so I'd go ahead and check out a preview prior to the July 22nd opening. They have a digital rush lottery for $30. It's also on Goldstar and TDF and there are discount codes galore. A fun night out. Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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| Link | Smokey Joe's Lottery |
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| re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Posted by: summertheater 08:46 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - Marlo*Manners 06:54 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| Pick any performance starting Friday and you'll see tons and tons of unsold seats at this theater, so I don't think this will be around long. Also, several people I know are loathe to walk 42nd between 8th & 9th on their way to the theater due to harassment by the Port Authority and additional harassment by the homeless shelter on 42nd between 8th and 9th (right next to the Subway sandwich shop). I've had to walk into the street several times to avoid getting "bumped into" as is all too common with these individuals these days. Others I know don't want to take the subway anymore to the theater with the frequent incidents these days, including the three women being punched out at 59th/Columbus Circle today at 10am. (http://abc7ny.com/nypd-man-randomly-punches-3-women-at-subway-station/3772456) |
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| re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Last Edit: FinalPerformance 09:59 am EDT 07/17/18 | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 09:58 am EDT 07/17/18 | |
| In reply to: re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - summertheater 08:46 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| When I take the subway to 8th Ave. and 42nd St. I always walk the entire block to 9th Ave. inside the airconditioned Port Authority building. After seeing the shows around 9th Ave and 10th there is the 42nd St. bus that takes me to the F train at 6th Ave. Yes, I know what your saying and the tourists staying in that area get an eye full late in the evening at times. Also, I noticed the highrise residence between 9th ave and 10th that advertises million dollar apartments. Go figure. |
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| re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 | |
| Posted by: Pokernight 09:50 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - summertheater 08:46 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| As Joseph Conrad would say: "the horror, the horror"......my favorite hotel is on 39th off 8th and I aint afraid to walk from there to the theaters...... | |
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| I live in Hell's Kitchen and I walk on 42nd Street every day | |
| Last Edit: Marlo*Manners 11:48 am EDT 07/17/18 | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 11:46 am EDT 07/17/18 | |
| In reply to: re: "Smokey Joe's Café" at Stage 42 - Pokernight 09:50 pm EDT 07/16/18 | |
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| The homeless and panhandlers/mendicants target people outside of the Port Authority between 8th and 9th Avenues. It is a problem at the 8th Avenue bus stop and along 42nd Street right up to the 7-11 store near 9th Avenue. Beyond 9th Avenue you don't see that much of the homeless or begging and I have never been accosted on the street between 9th and 10th Avenues. The Stage 42/Little Shubert is right in the middle of the block in a well-lit area next to a diner and Theater Row. There are plenty of people on the street and a hotel/apartment building nearby. The shows start around 8:00 pm when it is still fairly light in the summer time. So it really isn't crime infested at all. I don't know what two women being assaulted in the subway at the 59th Street subway station has to do with 42nd Street midtown. Crazies can go anywhere and do anything anytime. Just stay home if you are that afraid. Also summertheater - do you go to any shows near the Port Authority? Most of the Broadway theaters are located in that area. Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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| re: I live in Hell's Kitchen and I walk on 42nd Street every day | |
| Posted by: summertheater 12:54 pm EDT 07/17/18 | |
| In reply to: I live in Hell's Kitchen and I walk on 42nd Street every day - Marlo*Manners 11:46 am EDT 07/17/18 | |
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| Whenever I go to the 9th/10th Ave theaters, I'll either take the M42 bus, walk along 43rd (if it's the Westside Theater), walk quickly, and/or walk on the north side of 42nd from 8th to 8th midblock, use the midblock traffic light, then use the south side of 42nd from 8th midblock to 9th. That avoids the Port Authority (south side) from 8th to 8th midblock, and the homeless shelter (north side) from 8th midblock to 9th. I've been aggressively bumped far too many times in the past couple of years; it's a real problem these days. Luckily for the theaters east of 8th Avenue (such as Broadway theaters) I can avoid it. It's a shame these off-Broadway theaters don't demand the city clean up the aggressive harassment on 42nd Street that target theatergoers and anyone else passing through. | |
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