Gerry Geddes and Company
Someone Else’s Hat—A Sondheim Wishlist: Vol. II
Pangea, NYC, July 14, 2024
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Director/producer Gerry Geddes returned to Pangea for another evening of songs and passages from his memoirs. The songs in this show were drawn from a list that Stephen Sondheim had created for a New York Times interview; it consisted of numbers he wished he had written. Each of Geddes’ talented vocal guests sang two of them. The two memory pieces were each tangentially related to a musical number, and Geddes announced them with is conversational style. Pianist Darius Frowner provided the musical support in a straightforward style and with impressive versatility that complimented each singer.
Jazz singer Andre Montgomery kicked off the evening with a light version of “The Song Is You” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II) with more style than substance. He later returned with a far more effective “Blues in the Night” (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) that really sizzled with pain and anger. Newcomer Dana Aber showed off her impressive soprano and fine dramatic instincts on both of her selections: “When Did I Fall in Love?” and “Vanilla Ice Cream” (both by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick). Brian Childers displayed a soulful understanding on an impactful “I Had Myself a True Love” (Arlen/Mercer) and a wry, deadpan sense of humor (reminiscent of Virginia O’Brien) on the witty “Buds Won’t Bud” (Arlen/E.Y. Harburg).
Despite a broken foot, Sue Matsuki brought elegance to the stage, and sophisticated understanding mixed with a naiveté to the wicked lyrics of “When in Rome” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh). Later she explored the darkness underlying Irving Berlin’s beguine “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.” The diminutive songwriter George Winters laid out “The Rules of the Road” (Coleman/Leigh) in a small but clear voice; he transformed the number into a bluesy, late-night saloon song. He brought true character-actor charm to the same songwriters’ “Real Live Girl.” Karen Mack proved herself a subtle actress in a beautiful “What’s the Use of Wond’rin” (Richard Rodgers/Hammerstein) and later closed the show when she assured the audience that “The Best Is Yet to Come” (Coleman/Leigh).
What was missing from this enjoyable evening was any context. Not a single one of the lyricists and composers were mentioned on stage, nor was there any suggestion of why Sondheim had picked them. A bit more patter would have been most welcome to enrich the experience.