The Good Feelz
Love
Phoenix Theatre Company Hormel Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, February 17, 2023
Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards
The Good Feelz (like Liza with a Z), a vocal trio in existence since 2017, includes Lisa Fogel, Brian Sweis, and Adam Vargas. They knew each other for years having performed together in various musicals, but following a Jeff King Christmas Cabaret in 2016, they decided to create their own group. Phoenix Theatre Company presented them for four shows as part of its winter/spring series in one of their smaller theaters to the delight of a full house of opening-night patrons.
First and foremost, they looked good—polished and shiny in fitted, coordinated show clothes. They were backed by a three-piece band: Andria Fenning on piano, Derek Everett on drums, and Alex Mack on guitar. Vargas wrote an original theme song for them with which they opened the show; it was a more fully arranged version than the last time I heard it. Fogel “ooga chucked” them into “Hooked on a Feeling” which gave us a taste of the upcoming evening of delicious vocal harmony. Next up was Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons” (which she wrote with Hillary Lindsey and Mark Ronson). It gave Everett a chance to settle down and not overpower the rest of the musicians and singers. Sweis is a handsome Ken-doll crooner; he sang “It Had to Be You,” which took us back to the good old days of lounge singing. He has a mellow baritone voice that worked very well with the Great American Songbook material. Vargas took a trip down memory lane with a song he sang in his sixth-grade talent show, “Never Gonna Give You Up” (Stock Aitken Waterman). He is a guy who does not have to work at being funny; he is a natural comedian, and he reminded me of some of the greats, such as the John Candy and Jim Belushi. We had his sister’s simple choreography memorized by the end of his number. (On a sad note, he didn’t place in his big sixth-grade competition.) Fogel admitted that she has been very lucky in love and is still married to her high-school sweetheart. She sang Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” with a raw honesty that showed off her solid pitch and her ability to negotiate the notes in her mix middle range.
The group’s next medley had its debut at a former Phoenix venue, The Listening Room, back in the summer of 2017. Fogel said that the Billy Joel song “Until the Night” sounded to her like three songs. The medley added “Stay with Me” (Sam Smith/James Napier/William Phillips/Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne) and Carole King/Gerry Goffin’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” I found myself leaning in and listing to this complex arrangement that was a musical delight. “Songbird,” an a cappella tribute to the recently departed Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, was followed by an original by Fogel, “Love You Secretly.” The trio is adept at presenting themselves as serious musicians and then turning around and delivering absurdist dark comedy that faded into a whispered “uh huh.” They achieved harmonic perfection with “You Are the Reason” (Calum Scott/Corey Sanders). A smooth transition into “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon (who wrote it with Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday), took us into intermission.
One of the group’s shticks is to hold a drawing and ask the audience questions that range from some musical trivia to asking the gentleman whose seat number they drew, “So what do you love?” Typical for someone from Arizona, his answer was golf, grandchildren, and then the creative arts.
The Act Two opener was a perfect choice—the B-52’s hit “Love Shack.” Once again, the drums were too loud, but the singing trio had a great feel for the goofy antics of the original recording group, and they relaxed into a robust Act II. The Broadway set included Fogel’s solo on a straightforward “My Funny Valentine” (Rodgers & Hart), which was beautifully accompanied by Mack on guitar. Sweis did a first-rate job as a nervous Bobby with one of my favorite Sondheim songs, “Marry Me a Little.” Kudos to Fenning on piano as the song is not easy to accompany. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in addition to his comic appeal, Vargas has a strong tenor voice. We love cabaret because you can make any Broadway song your own, even if you have no chance of ever being cast in the show. Such was the case for Vargas with “Cool Rider,” originally sung by Michelle Pfeiffer in the film Grease II. He can rock out and I would love to see him try some of the songs that Jim Steinman wrote for Meatloaf.
All three came together as they slid into “Love Train” (Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff), with Fogel showing off her high, rocking belt. At her vocal peak, she took the lead on “The Boy from New York City” as Vargas and Sweis clowned while being her back-up singers. Then she joined Sweis to back up Vargas on the Etta James tune “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” (which James wrote with Leroy Kirkland and Pearl Woods). The trio made a good gospel choir, and the entire number was in perfect balance with the band. After the last audience give-away, Sweis and Everett got a chance to be featured on the Brandi Carlile single “The Story” (Phil Hanseroth). Sweis took a serious moment to remind us that things come in their own time and we should stay in the present with “Fall on Me,” which was written by Andrea Bocelli’s son Matteo (along with Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino of the American duo A Great Big World). The song built as Vargas and Fogel joined in.
Before their final number, the group paid a small, impromptu tribute to the late Burt Bacharach, and asked the audience to join them in “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” Their finale, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” did its job and left us uplifted and bathed in musical harmony. It was a good finish and as the gentleman in front of me said, “it exceeded my expectations.”
There was no stage set, but one nice touch was the placement of a cabaret table to the left of the stage from which the singers could watch their colleague’s solo numbers. For some reason they chose to have Connor Sullivan (guitar sub for the February 17 performance) sitting upstage dead center. He was never introduced or explained, and he sat with a disgruntled look on his face as he stared at a tablet throughout the show. I found out who he was through the lobby grapevine. They missed an opportunity to turn a distraction into a part of the show, or they could have placed him to the side table.
