Benjamin Eakeley
Broadway Swinger: Vol. 2—All of Me
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, November 15, 2017
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
I saw and was very impressed with Benjamin Eakeley’s cabaret debut last year at Feinstein’s/54 Below in which he performed songs of the 1960s. I approached his new show with some trepidation. Could a very talented, confident, energetic, and ingratiating but quite young vocalist do justice to songs of my favorite musical decade— the 1930s? His opening number, a lively “All of Me,” quickly put those doubts to rest. His choice of 15 songs was very representative of the era.
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Whether performing material written for men or women, crooners or belters, Eakeley did a masterful job of bringing back the sound and spirit of those Depression era songs. I particularly liked his inclusion of the verse in almost all of his selections. His comments were informative and often produced laughter when he made a statement about that era, which seemed eerily like comments that are being made today. And, just to add to the fun, he performed nicely on clarinet for “Sing, Sing, Sing.”
After his opening number, Eakeley commented that many of the 1930s songs were designed to make listeners forget about the Depression, and then performed “Love Walked In.” I had never heard a man perform “Ten Cents a Dance,” but his expression and movement made it work. He neatly combined two numbers with interchangeable lyrics: “The Glory of Love” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon” (“If You Believed in Me”). After saying “When things got worse, the songs got better,“ he performed my personal favorite, ”The Way You Look Tonight.” He did not forget the radio crooners, as he sang “The Very Thought of You” à la British crooner Al Bowlly.
Eakeley did justice to the most popular female performer of the 1930s, Shirley Temple, with “Alone with You,” which was followed by the piece Judy Garland considered her lucky song, “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart.” The closers, “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “All the Things You Are,” were representative of a time when war was approaching the USA.
He saved the very best for last: his haunting (including the verse) but beautiful “Love for Sale,” which had him ending on a very high note to close the show.
