Sally Jo Bannow & Steve Hilderbrand
Tea for Two
The Paradise Valley Methodist Church, Paradise Valley, AZ
February 10, 2023
Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards
Sally Jo Bannow is one of the leading ladies of the Phoenix theater scene. She has been seen on many professional theater stages, most recently in the Phoenix Theatre Company’s production of Cinderella. Steve Hilderbrand is Bannow’s friend and a sought-after musical director and accompanist. The latest discovery about him is that he can also sing cabaret from the piano. Before the program began, we were welcomed by the music director of The Paradise Valley Methodist Church and told that, following the performance of “Falling Slowly” (Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova), the collection plate would be passed. The artists were being paid by the Church, and the donations were to help compensate. It was a small price, given the quality of the show.
Bannow and Hilderbrand presented their show Tea for Two as part of the Church’s concert series, in which they offered songs about twosomes and love because Valentine’s Day was just around the corner. The opening medley consisted of four songs from the American Songbook starting with “One by One” (Alan & Marilyn Bergman/Billy Goldenberg), followed by “It Takes Two” (Sondheim’s Into the Woods), “Two for the Road” (Leslie Bricusse/Henry Mancini), and the title song (Irving Caesar /Vincent Youmans). There was a bit of breathiness when they sang in duet, but they found vocal harmony and clearly enjoyed singing together.
Hilderbrand soloed on “I Love a Piano” (Irving Berlin), which is a natural fit for him. Later in the show he nailed “Love Is Here to Stay” (George & Ira Gershwin) and his tour-de-force number had clever parody lyrics (anonymous) set to Linda Ronstadt’s hit “Blue Bayou” (Roy Orbison/Joe Melson), which he arranged. The song spoke of his love of going to the beach, and he admitted that he once tried wearing a toupee and found himself having to apologize as he went back to find his hair that “Blew by You.” It was hysterical. He joined Bannow to state their mutual love for the theater with “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (Berlin), on which he once again showed off his arranging skills. “Crazy Love” (Rusty Young) continued the theme with nice harmony.
Much of the patter, especially early in the show, consisted of their tossing song titles back and forth, which ultimately got old. They also integrated a few too many poems, some of which worked better than others. Bannow really landed with “Vincent” (Don McLean), which she introduced by talking about her mother and grandmother who were visual artists. The song was personal, and she sang it with passion and perfect vocal intonation. Her song choices were eclectic to say the least. She is known for her comic character skills, and she used them well on “The Physician” (Cole Porter). She is also a professional massage therapist and so the song elaborated on her love of anatomy classes. She then did a 180-degree turn into a country song by the Zach Brown Band “Knee Deep,” as she shared her love of water and a Grand Canyon river-rafting trip that had changed her life. The best of the poems was her original titled “The River.”
Bannow admitted to preferring dogs to men with “Times Like These” (Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty). The most fun moments for the enthusiastic and large audience came with the duo’s homage to old TV theme songs. It may have been filler and had little to do with the show’s theme, but I had a wonderful time. They bantered back and forth with the audience as we all sang along to eight songs ranging from “Thank You for Being a Friend” to “The Brady Bunch” to “The Addams Family” to everyone’s favorite, “Gilligan’s Island.”
Bannow is not a Great American Songbook devotee, but she loves Billy Strayhorn and did a superb job with “Daydream” (co-written with John Latouche and Duke Ellington) and “Oo (You Make Me Tingle).” The final song brought the cabaret full circle as Bannow sat next to her pianist for “Two Sleepy People” (Frank Loesser/Hoagy Carmichael). They asked us if we wanted one more song and of course we encouraged them. They encored with “I Love Being Here with You” (Peggy Lee/Bill Schluger).
My favorite Cabaret Scenes coverage is to write about Arizona-based artists who have the courage and confidence to create and share their own personal stories and songs in this wacky and wonderful genre of cabaret.
