Jack Bartholet
Unusually Grand Ideas
Pangea, NYC, December 11, 2021
Reviewed by Jerry Osterberg
“Unusually grand ideas” can be code for a person with a bi-polar disorder, in which an individual may have delusions of grandeur or a false sense of greatness during a manic phase of this common form of depression. Jack Bartholet showed remarkable courage by sharing his family history of mental illness and what he has personally overcome.
Still, the show, directed by Travis Greisler, was not a pity party by any means.
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Throughout the stellar performance of songs by the singer and his musicians: Yasuhiko Fukuoka (musical director), Chris Biesterfeldt (guitar), Wes Bourland (bass), and Simon Fishburn (drums), there were moments of sadness, but there were also wonderful segments of humor, enthusiasm, and joy that blended perfectly with Bartholet’s saga of a life in progress.
Beginning with a straightforward delivery of “Where or When” (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart), Bartholet opened to a fast-moving Latin beat, setting a tone that instantly engaged the room full of fans. He followed with a bright and breezy production number —This Is It” (Arthur Schwartz/Dorothy Fields). Although the song is mostly associated with Judy Garland, who included it in a 1958 album, the song first appeared in the 1939 Broadway musical Stars in Your Eyes with Ethel Merman. “Everything Has Changed” (Bob Bruno/Bethany Cosentino) is a high-energy rock song in which the protagonist seems powerless to alter a soul-crushing existence. When he does bring about hard-earned change, the self-directed improvement is welcome if only fleeting.
Reflecting Bartholet’s narrative about therapy, medication (prescribed and otherwise) and sincere attempts to build a better life, there are lyrics that reflect uncertainty ,such as in “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise” (Robert Crawford/Avett Brothers). It is a lengthy song whose phrases alternatively reflect fear, conflict, promise, and insecurity—sometimes ,it seems all at once: “There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light,” “And I’m frightened by those who don’t see it,” and “If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected.” Bartholet’s performance makes the words are stirring and powerful.
In a concert filled with emotional moments, the most honest and eloquent number was “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” (Tommy Wolf/Fran Landesman), a decades-old anthem recorded by countless artists, including Roberta Flack, Shirley Bassey, and Anita O’Day. Bartholet performed the tearful song with all the heart and tenderness it calls for. The final song of the set was “Sign of the Times” (Alex Salibian/Jeffrey Bhasker/Mitchell Rowland/Ryan Nasci/Tyler Johnson). Here was yet another song filled with feeling: “Just stop your crying. It’s a sign of the times.” “We gotta get away from here.” It was an unapologetic, forceful song and a tour de force for the singer.
The encore, “Sing Happy” (John Kander/Fred Ebb), originally performed by Liza Minnelli in Flora the Red Menace, is a showstopper, and Bartholet sang it with the conviction of someone who has obviously worked hard both emotionally and artistically. It suggests that he is pleased to have gotten to the place he set out to be at this moment.
Mentored by his mother, grandmother, and an aunt at every stage of his childhood, Bartholet had opportunities which a young man who has a passion to perform could only hope for. Jack Bartholet has clearly been impressed by his mother’s words: “You have something you want to say, and I’m glad you’re saying it.”
