Klea Blackhurst Dreaming of a Song—The Music of Hoagy Carmichael

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Klea Blackhurst

Dreaming of a Song—The Music of Hoagy Carmichael

With Billy Stritch

Chelsea Table + Stage, NYC, September 15, 2024

Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

Klea Blackhurst
Photo by Bill Wetmoreland

 

Klea Blackhurst is a belter of Broadway show tunes, well known for her shows about Ethel Merman and Jerry Herman, for which she is a perfect fit. It was a revelation to see how skillfully she handled the songs of Hoagy Carmichael, who is the antithesis of Merman and Herman. The dreamy and haunting melodies of Carmichael, which can be romantic when they’re paired with one of the many talented lyricists with whom he worked, didn’t seem to be quite in Blackhurst’s wheelhouse. Nevertheless…

Her voice, which can be so thrilling when it reaches those stentorian heights for which she is famous, has a more delicate side. She was paired with Billy Stritch on the piano, who also sang several numbers, a different Blackhurst emerged.

True to her personality, she looked around the room, as if to make sure everyone was having a good time. Acknowledging some, waving to others, she seemed to be the hostess with the mostess, to borrow a phrase. She and Stritch were clearly enjoying themselves, and when there was no singing, there was kibbitzing between them that was reminiscent of Crosby and Hope in their “road” movies. Drummer Daniel Glass joined in the frolicking, and together with Steve Doyle on bass he helped make the evening so much fun. Such skillful levity balanced out the urge to succumb to the romanticism of the music. They have worked together often, and the chemistry, artistry, and respect they shared was charming.

Carmichael worked with many lyricists, from A (Harold Adamson) to, well, W (Paul Francis Webster) and Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, and Mitchell Parish were frequent collaborators. “Stardust” is perhaps Carmichael’s most beloved standard and has exquisite and evocative lyrics by Parish. It earned the respect of fellow songwriters when they named it the most beautiful song any of them had written. It certainly is one of the most recorded songs of all time, and it was inspired when Carmichael was recovering from the end of a romance. Stritch approached this song with all the reverence it deserved and filled the air with its plaintive wistfulness.

Blackhurst’s take on “Skylark” produced a similar effect on the audience, and induced a sigh from one or two of us. She and Stritch joined for a rather geographical duet with “Can’t Get Indiana Off My Mind” (lyric by Robert De Leon) and “Georgia on My Mind” (lyric by Stuart Gorrell).

“You don’t write melodies, you find them. They lie there on the keys, waiting…They have always been there.” These words of Carmichael capture the tender and romantic nature of the man who gave us so many timeless classics. The audience expressed much gratitude to Blackhurst and Strtich for leaving us all “Dreaming of a Song” by Hoagy Carmichael.

If you missed this reverential yet playful show, don’t worry—a CD exists. But if you really want the Blackhurst and Stritch experience, join them at Birdland in late December for their annual Christmas show with Jim Caruso. It’s the perfect way to start your holiday.

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Jacqueline Parker

Like Ethel Merman, lifelong New Yorker Jacqueline Parker began her career as a stenographer. She spent more than two decades at the city's premier public agency, progressing through positions of increased responsibility after earning her BA in English from New York University (3.5 GPA/Dean’s List). She won national awards for her work in public relations and communication and had the privilege of working in the House of Commons for Stephen Ross, later Lord Ross of Newport. In the second half of her career, Jacqueline brought her innate organizational skills and creative talents to a variety of positions. While distinguishing herself in executive search, she also gave her talents to publishing, politics, writing, radio broadcasting and Delmonico's Restaurant. Most recently, she hosted Anything Goes! a radio show that paid homage to Cole Porter and by extension the world of Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook. Other features of the show were New York living, classical music, books, restaurants, architecture and politics. This show highlighted the current Broadway scene, both in New York and around the country through performances and interviews with luminaries including Len Cariou, Charles Strouse, Laura Osnes, Steve Ross and Joan Copeland. Her pandemic project was immersion into the life, times and work of Alfred Hitchcock, about whom she has written a soon-to-be-published article. Jacqueline has been involved in a myriad of charitable causes, most notably the Walt Frazier Youth Foundation, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Sisters of Life, York Theatre, and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is a proud Founder of Hidden Water. Her greatest accomplishment is the parenting of her son, a lawyer specializing in mediation. She has many pretend grandchildren, nieces and nephews, on whom she dotes shamelessly, as well as a large circle of friends to whom she is devoted. Her interests in addition to theater and cabaret are cooking, entertaining, reading, and spending time on Queen Mary 2.