Jeremy Jordan
Jeremy Jordan: Carry On
Feinstein’s/54 Below, Streaming May 6 – June 17, 2021
Reviewed by Joel Benjamin
Jeremy Jordan has matured from his boyishly energetic Newsies days. Perhaps it’s fatherhood that has made him transform from a juvenile to a mature leading man.
In fact, it is fatherhood that drives his Jeremy Jordan: Carry On, streaming from the stage of NYC’sFeinstein’s/54 Below. The show is an autobiographical one-act musical, and all the songs are keyed to his musings, all of which are directed to his sweet baby daughter, Clara.
Using the metaphor of a suitcase full of memorabilia, Jordan performed songs that illustrated each item—a scarf, a CD, a photo—taken from that valise placed atop the piano. He was supported by the delicately constructed arrangements of his good-humored musical director, Benjamin Rauhala. Rauhala proved a perfect foil as the person who brought Jordan back to reality when his musings threatened to stop the show. (All scripted, I’m sure.)
Jordan opened and closed with songs he wrote: “Carry On,” about sustaining one’s personal vision against adversities, and “Flesh and Bone,” about striving to remove his façade to get down to his true self. Both given passionate, yet nuanced performances.
As Jordan reflected on his extremely dysfunctional childhood which included the death of his father, abuse by his mom and stepfather, a troubled love life and other events beyond the scope of this review, he displayed his varied emotional responses through his choice of repertoire.
“Broadway, Here I Come!” from Smash (Joe Iconis) described an anxious, acrophobic journey to Broadway. The country tinged “When You Say Nothing At All” (Don Schlitz/Paul Overstreet), paired with an especially horrific memory, expressed, with touching simplicity, Jordan’s need to keep deep feelings to himself, while “Santa Fe,” from his hit Broadway outing Newsies (Jack Feldman/Alan Menken), gently mused on getting to this fantasy version of that town.
Two medleys—“Princess Jeremy Medley” and “Finishing the Show Medley”—allowed him to sample songs from Disney films and even one song, the raucously sung “Raise a Little Hell” (Frank Wildhorn/Jack Black) from another of his Broadway encounters, Bonnie and Clyde.
The simplest, most straight forward interpretation of this emotional rollercoaster of a show was of Billy Joel’s “Lullaby,” here sung without acknowledging the bittersweet irony of Joel’s lyrics. This was a lovingly crooned song to Clara and a tender tribute to her.
The show, written and directed by Jordan, was brilliantly directed for the screen by Cody Williams with mood-enhancing cinematography by Adam Paul Verity.
Rauhala’s talented band included Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf (cello), Shannon Ford (percussion), Alan Stevens Hewitt (electric bass), David Cinquegrana (acoustic and electric guitar) and background vocalists Ginna Le Vine and Josh Tolle, all of whom contributed to Jordan’s vision.
