In the Spotlight: The J2 Cabaret Series
I’m the Greatest Star: The Songs of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill
Theater Row, NYC, May 2, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
The J2 Cabaret Series, now in its premiere season, returned to present its second show, a tribute to Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, composer and lyricist for J2’s current mainstage production of Sugar. Each cabaret is devoted to the work of the featured songwriters but excludes songs from its current production. The previous evening devoted to Kander and Ebb sparkled and was a major success. Unfortunately, the sophomore slump affected the second outing. The revue definitely had its highlights as delivered by its individual performances, but some basic mistakes undermined the night as a whole.
Jule Styne wrote the score (with various lyricists) for 37 musicals dozens of films, and several television specials—well over 1,500 songs. Bob Merrill was slightly less abundant; he had 12 shows to his credit (at times writing both music and lyrics, sometimes just the latter), as well as at least three television specials written with Styne and a host of pop songs. These included hits such as “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window.” Given this horn of plenty, why were more than half of the 15 songs selected from just three Broadway musicals, including five from the currently running Funny Girl, for the 70-minute program? Most of these were well-known numbers with only a few true obscurities. The team’s television special, The Dangerous Christmas of Little Red Riding Hood, was represented by the charming number, “My Red Riding Hood,” but the far more popular TV special, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol,was totally ignored, including the exquisite “Winter Was Warm.”
Presumably, director Sarah Hartmann had a great deal to do with the song choices. She also served as the charming host of the evening; she introduced the songs and the performers clearly, though there were some surprising statements and missed opportunities. A grouping of three songs written by Styne for Frank Sinatra included two he introduced and along with one (“Just in Time”—Styne/Comden & Green) that he finally covered very late in the day; it was introduced in 1960 by Judy Holiday and Sidney Chaplin in Bells Are Ringing. The welcomed fun of the little-known “Call Me Savage” (Styne/Comden & Green) from Fade Out—Fade In was charmingly performed by Connor Coughlin and Molly Samson, but there was no mention that the exact same melody showed up the following year in Hallelujah, Baby! as “Witches Brew.” Styne was notorious for recycling his work and this fact deserved to be mentioned.
Among the highlights of the evening were Lee Roy Reams’ recollection of the time he spent with Styne during the production of Lorelei; Jim Brochu’s reinterpretation of “The Late, Late Show” (Styne/Comden & Green); and Steve Ross, free of the piano, who offered an extremely touching “Mira” (Merrill from Carnival). In another number from Carnival, Clifton Samuels brought dramatic intensity to “Her Face,” and Brandon Delgado did the same with “All of My Life” (Styne/Comden & Green) from Do Re Mi. They both effectively mixed their musical talents with fine and intelligent acting. For sheer melodic magic, Coughlin provided a thrilling “Three Coins in the Fountain” (Styne/Sammy Cahn), and Mara Jill Herman beautifully built “The Music That Makes Me Dance” (Styne/Merrill from Funny Girl). Throughout, pianist Lindsay Miller provided fine music direction, and matched the style of each singer with each song (and occasionally prompted a lyric or two). The evening was far from a disaster; it was less than satisfying due to the missed opportunities.
