Jeffrey Schmelkin
The Parts I Keep Inside: A New Song Cycle
The Triad, NYC, July 31, 2021
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Jeffrey Schmelkin (pictured) offered up a complex and impressive new song cycle, The Parts I Keep Inside, for which he is created both music and lyrics (although a delightfully mocking line following an egregious false rhyme announced “This composer is not a lyricist!”). Produced by Rye Myers (Rye Entertainment), it was given a full rendition by an ensemble that included four vocalists and three musicians. The singers did have music stands in front of them, but happily they were all well-prepared and only had to glance at their music on occasion.
The singers were also all extremely talented.
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Wisely chosen
for a variety of vocal styles and looks, they each greatly contributed to the
evening. Ellis Gage is a handsome leading man, and Ryan Hudzik is high-energy
character guy. Andrea Levinksy excels in vocal pyrotechnics, while Beda Sindola
can range from comic fury to warm acceptance. Attention must be paid also to
music director/pianist Patrick B. Phillips, percussionist Joshua Roberts, and
violinist Rachel Beauregard.
As to the songs themselves, Schmelkin offers up a wide range of topics in the post-Rent genre. He is openly and unapologetically gay, often veering toward young-adult angst, and expressing frustrations over jobs and relationships; his strongest work is the more idiosyncratic. Such story songs as “Artist in the World of the Bot” (sung by Hudzik), “Fucking Degree in Music” (Levinsky), “(How Do You Be a) Sexy Telemarketer” (Hudzik again), and the extremely funny and truthful “Following Walt (to Disney)” (Gage), show a confident talent for creating story songs.
Two of the more touchingly serious songs came back to back in the second half (although played without pause, the act break was very clearly defined with a delightful trio, “Come Out and Create”), the bluesy “Please Don’t Go (With Him)” which isn’t quite what it seems to be about, and a song of mother and son love—“What You Gave Me,” performed by Gage and Levinsky. Some of the other ballads tended to fall back on less specific images and emotions, which robs them of impact. The Parts I Keep Inside shows that Schmelkin hasn’t quite taken total control of his craft as yet, but that he is certainly someone to watch in the future.
