Tony Yazbeck: Celebrates The Floor Above Me

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Tony Yazbeck

Celebrates The Floor Above Me

Birdland, NYC, July 10, 2016

Reviewed by Marilyn Lester for Cabaret Scenes

Photo: JWPHOTONYC
Photo: JWPHOTONYC

Triple threat Tony Yazbeck has energy and talent to spare. Fresh from the matinee of Finding Neverland, Yazbeck bounded onto the Birdland stage to deliver The Floor Above Me, a mini- Broadway musical of his own devising. The Floor Above Me originally debuted in 2015 and received a “cast album” in February 2016. This particular tour-de-force performance was in celebration of that CD release.
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Yazbeck opens with a medley: “Let Yourself Go,” “Fancy Free,” “Fascinating Rhythm” and “Can’t You See It.” Therein begins the narrative, a story about a four-year-old boy in Bethlehem, PA who fell in love with Fred Astaire and dreamed an MGM dream of being just like him. The story is real, engaging and, of course, has plenty of dance. Yazbeck is first and foremost a dancer. Like his idols Astaire and Gene Kelly, he sings well enough, but it’s the complete package of performer that is the main attraction. “Neverland” sets the stage, and the romantic quest for Broadway and Love is on, through “On the Sunny Side of the Street” to “Pure Imagination” to the first dance number, “All I Need Is the Girl.” With “Moses Supposes,” song-and-dance man Clyde Alves, the first of Yazbeck’s supporting cast, appears. Then, with tapper Melinda Sullivan, Yazbeck sings and dances to a clever arrangement of “Dance Me to the End of Love”/”I Won’t Dance.” Toward the end of the show, his wife, Katie Huff, the sought-for object of desire, joins the cast, completing the complement.
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In sum, The Floor Above Me proved to be a first-rate evening of entertainment, including mini-production numbers such as “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” and “Slap That Bass.” Yazbeck himself is full of charm, spirit, and authenticity.
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He’s the boy-next-door you can’t help but fall in love with.

The Floor Above Me was written and directed by Howard Emanuel and Yazbeck. It’s wonderfully curated and constructed, with other numbers such as “’Til Kingdom Come,” “I Was Taught to Be a Fighter” and “Lucky to Be Me,” among others, making for a pleasing eclectic mix.
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Adding a trumpet (Mark McGowan) to the rhythm section of drums (Rick Shlosser), bass (Ritt Henn) and piano (Jerome Korman, also musical director and arranger) gave a rich nuance to this musically full-bodied and thoroughly enjoyable show.

Marilyn Lester

Marilyn Lester left journalism and commercial writing behind nearly two decades ago to write plays. That branch in the road led to screenwriting, script-doctoring, dramaturgy and producing for the stage. Marilyn has also co-authored, as well as edited, books. It seemed the only world of words she hadn’t conquered was criticism, an opportunity that presented itself via Theater Pizzazz. Marilyn has since sought to widen her scope in this form of writing she especially relishes. Marilyn is a member of the Authors Guild, Dramatists Guild, Women in the Arts and Media and The League of Professional Theater Women.