Tim Connell
Lucky Me!
Pangea, NYC, March 20, 2022
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Photo: Stephen Mosher
A celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and all things Irish, Tim Connell’s newest show at Pangea, Lucky Me!, was a delightful celebration offering just the right mix of humor, sentiment ,and sentimentality. This singer has so much warmth that the audience immediately becomes part of his extended family, and he has so much charm that it’s difficult to believe he has never visited Blarney Castle in the Motherland. Aided and abetted by his music director James Followell, who contributes his own sly humor and musicianship to the program, what Connell presented was a fully pleasurable afternoon.
Beginning with an “unplugged” version of “Look to the Rainbow” that immediately established the intimacy of the afternoon, Connell exhibited his talent of seeming to sing to individuals in the audience without excluding the whole. Further Broadway material in the show included the brilliant lyrics of “On the Streets of Dublin” presented with impressive clarity, the aching romanticism of “I’ll Buy You a Star,” and a totally necessary medley tribute to the most prominent of theatrical Irishmen, George M.
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Cohan, presented with all the required brio.
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But the musical content of the program cast a wide net beyond Broadway. From the world of pop music came some beautifully delivered versions of “Alone Again, Naturally” and “Moondance,” among others. The traditional Irish tunes, “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral” (blended with the Tin Pan Alley “When Irish Eyes Are Shining”), “Seven Drunken Nights,” and a heartfelt “Danny Boy,” were all presented with sincerity and a complete lack of camp that beautifully rode the narrow margin between sentiment and sentimentality.
Throughout the afternoon, guest artist and honorary Irishman Ari Messenger used his fiddle to spin enchanting melodies both as a solo instrument and in support of Connell. The intense feeling he brought forth from his violin gave an emotional backbone to the program. Director Steven Petrillo (evidently another honorary Irishman) used a light touch in shaping the material; an impressive skill in itself.
Connell’s witty patter included tales of distant relatives’ unfortunate ventures into vaudeville at an address only a few blocks away from the site of the show, along with a series of stimulating toasts as bracing as whiskey and as warming as hot cup of tea—just like his show.
