Noah McKane & Jules Pasko
Swipe Right
The Green Room 42, NYC, February 11, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Noah McKane, Jules Pasko, and pianist Tommy Folderauer are three lovely, talented, young people (still in college) who have an immense amount of energy. One would almost expect them to be putting on their show in a family barn. Since most of their family were in attendance perhaps there wasn’t such a structure available. So instead, they came to The Green Room 42. A pre-Valentine Day’s celebration of all the stages of youthful romance that drew heavily on contemporary Broadway material, was certainly an appropriate and appealing concept. There were some truly thrilling moments, as well as many moments that betrayed their inexperience. Once again, this was a show that would have been greatly improved by the input of a director.
The two vocalists are old friends who complement each other. McKane is upbeat and a bit giggly, and Pasko is a bit sardonic and self-deprecating; he is a tall ginger, and she is a dark beauty. They were each other’s dates for their high school junior prom (although he announced with a grin, “I date boys now”). However, they certainly dressed differently which was a bit of a problem: her strapless gown would have been perfect for a cocktail party; his preppy outfit was great for an afternoon out. Unfortunately, this suggested they were doing very different shows and hadn’t coordinated things; they had rehearsed the material but not the show.
There were certainly major highlights during the afternoon. Pasko tore the place apart with “You Oughta Know” from Jagged Little Pill and brought a real rage to the break-up song. McKane brought real heartbreak and longing to Little Mix’s “Secret Love Song Pt. II” and imbued the lyrics with a very personal perspective. They also offered selections from Dear Evan Hansen, a show they admitted they hated though they loved the song “Only Us”; High School Musical, a television program they confessed they never watched, choosing its “Breaking Free” as the opener; and Girl from the North Country “I Want You,” saying that one of their fathers considered Bob Dylan one of the greatest songwriters of our time, and one of the worst singers. For the finale they offered the “Elephant Love Medley” from Moulin Rouge with great gusto if not the precision that it really required.
One of the less happy quirks that both performers shared was that they kept pointing out the mistakes they had just made. Not only was this annoying in and of itself, but it suggested that they were far more focused on themselves than on the material they were performing. Another, if lesser, issue was their lack of understanding of how to deal with mic stands: when the mic is taken out of the stand, the stand should be moved behind the singer rather than leaving it as a barrier between the performer and the audience. It also should not be leaned upon and fondled during a song. Hopefully, with time and experience, the singers will move past these issues. It will certainly be interesting to see how they develop their performance style.
