The Yale Whiffenpoofs

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The Yale Whiffenpoofs

54 Below, NYC, February 5, 2005,

Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

Like a cool breeze on a hot summer afternoon—or, more seasonally accurate, like a mug of hot chocolate to welcome you in from the cold—The Yale Whiffenpoofs strode confidently onto the stage at 54 Below and charmed an appreciative audience with their mastery of a cappella singing.  Started in 1909, they are the world’s oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group.  Every year, 14 senior Yale students are selected to join this prestigious group, whose alumni include Cole Porter (class of 1913). Incidentally, Porter wrote the Yale Fight Song “Bulldog.”   

The Whiffenppofs brought their youthful enthusiasm from New Haven and delivered a whose writers ranged from Jerome Kern to Paul Simon. Their youth was obvious and contrasted with the talent displayed by each of them. They were, individually and collectively, a refreshing change of pace from the typical cabaret show.

Most appealing was their take on “All the Things You Are” (Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II) from Very Warm for May (1939).  Performed as originally intended, this song is done by two couples (one almost aghost couple), and they harmonize beautifully.  The Whiffenpoofs came as close to the original version as possible, and their expert harmonizing was enthralling.

Each member of the group had a solo, and most often they were supported by the others as their back-up singers. The entire program was polished and at times surprising. Their “Midnight Train to Georgia” (Jim Weatherly) was enhanced by a charming bit of choreography that was so surprising on such a small stage already fully populated. There were other movements, such as finger snapping, that kept this hip group from having any hint of “choir” about them. Their interpretations of “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John/Bernie Taupin) and “The Boxer” (Simon) were moving and in complete contrast to the playfulness they displayed earlier in the program.

The show closed with “The Whiffenpoof Song,” which they delivered with great reverence as we all raised our glasses and sang along with them. Let’s hope next time around they include the aforementioned Porter song, which was conspicuous by its absence.

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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.