George Dvorsky and Sally Mayes
Pete ‘n’ Keely
Birdland Theater, NYC, November 10, 2019
Reviewed by Alix Cohen for Cabaret Scenes
First presented in 2001, this lounge act, written by James Hindeman and directed by Mark Waldrop, is back by popular demand. It’s rare that one can say that and believe it. Birdland Theater is packed with people who are mostly familiar with the original or its previous, singular revival.
An NBC “live telecast” of the reunion of longtime collaborators Pete ‘n’ Keely, (George Dvorsky and Sally Mayes) the show begins with an announcer’s voiceover: “Hold onto those tickets for a drawing of a Thunderbird! (it’s a car.) We’re on the air-three, two, one!” “It’s Us Again” (Richard Gene/Jay Billy) Pete and Keely sing with ebullience and moving arms. (Choreography is a hoot.) Momentarily overcome by the audience’s reception, Keely rebounds to repeatedly cut off Pete’s lines. It seems the two are divorced and frisson is apparent.
The Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers “Lover” is even more stagey.
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Hips undulating side by side, Pete whips around, left arm bent and quivering palm splayed. They turn away from and then towards one another. “Lover!” she sings. “What?!” he responds. First right then left shoulders rise. The song ends nose to nose with a moment of unexpected warmth.
It seems the pair met at a classic Italian restaurant where Keely had tracked Milton Berle in order to present herself as a vocalist. Pete’s dancing in “Besame Mucho” (Consuelo Velasquez), sung in perfect Spanish, is wonderfully corny. Seeing Berle start to leave, Keely jumps up and joins Pete at the microphone. “There I was singing with this girl and watching her finger snapping which I found strangely erotic.”
Uncle Miltie stopped in his tracks and the two became a professional duo and then married. The show takes us through the couple’s joint career with just enough real signposts to be credible. Walter Winchell dubbed them “America’s Swingin’ Sweethearts.” They passed on a honeymoon to open for Joey Bishop; they bought a house.
Commercials intervene with tenuous, amusing connection to the patter. As the story gets to their falling out, Pete and Keely begin to snipe at each other, first during breaks, then on air. “Saying my lines isn’t going to make you look thinner,” he cracks. “Pete has a thing for young girls. The problem is he keeps showing it to them,” she later parries. By the time they get to “Have You Got a Lot to Learn” (Patrick S. Brady/Mark Waldrop) sparks fly.
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“Cross Country Tour” is a marvel of fast, precise enunciation and track-switching in the manner of Danny Kaye’s version of “Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians).” Wowza. Both performers also have excellent solos.
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The couple confront, walk off, return and eventually figure out they’re still in love. It’s a well- timed, well-played arc.
If these artists were not so talented, none of this would work. Schmaltz aside, Mayes and Dvorsky sing, act, and move appealingly. Their chemistry is terrific. The show is unadulterated fun.
They continue at Birdland Theater November 17 and 29, 2019
