Ira Lee Collings: Simply, Ira Lee

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Ira Lee Collings

Simply, Ira Lee
(A Gay Geezer Celebration Through the Looking Glass…Warts and All)

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, June 15, 2016

Reviewed by Joel Benjamin for Cabaret Scenes

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Pleasant is the word that came to mind during Ira Lee Collings’ Simply, Ira Lee (A Gay Geezer Celebration) at Don’t Tell Mama. It was a genteel, practically irony- and pain-free program of decently sung classics that told the tale of an Indiana native, the youngest of eight children, who grew up before Gay Lib, yet managed to have a string of lovers and a minor career in show business. 

Collings has a pleasant, thin voice that often expanded in surprising ways as he got into a song. “Put on a Happy Face” (Charles Strouse/Lee Adams) was an apt opening number, followed by a wistful, yet hopeful, “Here’s to Life” (Phyllis Molinary/Artie Butler).

His first romantic experience, while performing in a local theatrical troupe, was illuminated with “I’m Beginning to See the Light” (Duke Ellington/Don George/Johnny Hodges/Harry James), while a move to Chicago left him confused: “Who Are You Now?
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” (Jule Styne/Bob Merrill). A song written for the Judy Garland film A Star Is Born, “Lose That Long Face” (Harold Arlen/Ira Gershwin), followed by “A Resting Place” (Richard Lescsak) and “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” (Strouse/Adams), described an arc of his life that took him from menial jobs to winning a talent contest.

A quiet “At Last” (Harry Warren/Mack Gordon) and a buoyant “Just in Time” (Styne/Comden & Green) signaled an uptick in his romantic and professional life.

Finally, he met the love of his life with whom he has lived for over thirty years. A very sweet “He Touched Me” (Milton Schafer/Ira Levin), a moving “Come In from the Rain” (Carole Bayer Sager/Melissa Manchester) and a triumphant “Nothing Can Stop Me Now” (Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley) told of his contentment.
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“There’s a Small Hotel” (Rodgers & Hart) was a sing-along finale.

Although his tale might have had deeper pathos and might have been more revealing of what it was really like to be gay in mid-century U.S.A, there was enough heartfelt storytelling to keep his act grounded.
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John M. Cook was his good-natured accompanist and musical director. His piano playing was terrific.

Joel Benjamin

A native New Yorker, Joel was always fascinated by musical theater. Luckily, he was able to be a part of seven Broadway musicals before the age of 14, quitting to pursue a pre-med degree, which led no where except back to performing in the guise of directing a touring ballet troupe. Always interested in writing, he wrote a short play in high school that was actually performed, leading to a hiatus of nearly 40 years before he returned to writing as a reviewer. Writing for Cabaret Scenes has kept him in touch with world filled with brilliance.