June 2010 Theatre Review by Lawrence Bommer
Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen could make the notes of his numbers feel as inevitable as a sunrise. You never feel he had to struggle to get from the refrain to the bridge and back again. Alas, Arlen never got the fame that contemporaries like Gershwin, Kern, Porter and Berlin took for granted. A quiet workhorse who turned out deathless melodies that made stars out of Judy Garland and Groucho Marx, his songs are as intimate as his life was unassuming.
With very serviceable lyrics by the likes of Johnny Mercer, Truman Capote, Ira Gershwin, Billy Rose, E.Y. Harburg, Ted Koehler and the composer himself, they’re superbly showcased in a richly appropriate cabaret setting at No Exit Café in this latest reclamation effort by Fred Anzevino and the uncontestable talents of Theo Ubique Theatre. Unlike today’s power ballads that all but clobber you with unearned emotion, Arlen’s art is to bring the emotions out of the notes, so much so you don’t need to know the lyrics to feel the passion.
The
setting for this two-hour triumph is a cabaret within a cabaret,
where five drinkers and a bartender (all unmiked for the natural
sound we deserve) converse through songs written between 1931 and
1954. These terrific tunes never fail to console, encourage,
confirm and sometimes contradict the patrons’ lessons in
love. So, for instance, Bethany Thomas’ beautifully belted
“Stormy Weather” is wisely followed by Stephanie
Herman’s reassuring “When The Sun Comes Out.”
Along the way we encounter such Arlen classics as “Blues in the Night,” “The Man That Got Away,” “That Old Black Magic,” and of course, “Over the Rainbow” (recently deemed the greatest song of the last century). But there are wonderful discoveries too, such as Eric Lindahl’s playful version of the love lament “Buds Won’t Bud” or the ladies cooing in perfect harmony to “Hit the Road to Dreamland.” Festooned in Zoot suits, suspenders, and Fedora hats or cultured pearls and sultry cocktail gowns, the ensemble are fully at home with the period as much as the music, a grounding that inspires confidence in every bar.
Most of all it’s a welcome homecoming to return to so many Arlen gems, perfectly packaged by Steve Carson’s musical direction. When Sarah Hayes and Eric Martin ruefully admit that “It’s Only a Paper Moon” or Kristofer Simmons recreates Groucho’s “Lydia the Tattooed Lady,” you see how great Arlen’s range is from the sublime to the silly. Apart from a brief tribute to “The Wizard of Oz,” this revue is mainly a tribute to how well these love ballads stand on their own and stand the test of time. Because they set the Broadway bar, that’s WHY they’re called standards.
These show stoppers ultimately don’t need a show at all. Just a refurbishing by some brave new talents gives new currency to “Come Rain or Come Shine,” the rollicking “Get Happy,” and the effortlessly smooth “Let’s Fall in Love.” The rich evening concludes with the earliest number “Sweet and Hot,” a perfect recipe of the very ingredients that make Arlen’s songs so easy to sing and hard to forget. "Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen" is presented by Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre through August 15, 2010. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 7:00pm. Tickets are $25. Call 800-595-4849 or visit theoubique.org. For more information on this show, please visit the Theatre In Chicago Sweet and Hot page.
About Lawrence Bommer
A
native Chicagoan, Lawrence Bommer has been an active free-lance
writer and playwright since 1975. For twenty years he wrote a
weekly column, "Opening Nights" for the Friday section of
the Chicago Tribune, where he also regularly contributed theater
criticism and feature writing. His work has appeared in
Stagebill, the Pulitzer-Lerner newspapers and The Advocate.
Mr. Bommer was theater editor for the Windy City Times since its founding until 1999; from 1986 a theater critic for the Chicago Reader (where he has also written for the "Calendar" and "Our Town" sections); Chicago Free Press, where he was contributing editor until the paper’s demise in spring 2010; Chicago Footlights, where he has been a regular contributor; and Plays International, where he is the Chicago correspondent. He has also contributed to the Hollywood Reporter, PerformInk, Screen Magazine, CitySearch, the Chicago Illini, Inside Chicago, Illinois Entertainer, the International Theatre Festival of Chicago newsletter, Plays International, CitySearch, Playbill Online, TheatreMania, CurtainUp.com and Chicago Enterprise. Mr. Bommer is a three-time finalist for a Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism in the "arts criticism" category. In 1991 he became a regular theater and, dance critic and arts writer for the Chicago Tribune. His commentary has also aired on LesBiGay Radio, WGN and on Milwaukee Public Radio.
As a playwright, Mr. Bommer's work has been produced in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Madison and, in Chicago, by the Organic Theater Company (Jonathan Wild [1979], Poe [1980]. Gulliver's Last Travels [1993] and by Lionheart Gay Theatre (Gunsel, The Tyrannicides, Killers and Comrades). Since 1976 Mr. Bommer has taught at the Francis W. Parker School and was a lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1969 to 1975 (where he received his Master's degree in English), as well as a guest lecturer at the College of DuPage, Roosevelt University, DePaul University and the University of Chicago. Mr. Bommer is a member of the American Theater Critics Association and has been a member of the National Writers Union and the Dramatists Guild.