2005 Cabaret Convention
- Thursday Night
FOURTH
NIGHT AT THE CABARET CONVENTION
Thursday, October 20,
2005
Rose Hall, New York City
Reported by Joe
Regan
Please note: No "song lists" distributed at the convention, so some
of the song titles in these reports may not be accurate and/or misspelled.
The fourth
night of the 16th Annual Mabel Mercer Foundation Cabaret Convention
took place on Thursday, October 22nd
at the ROSE HALL at Time Warner Center (Columbus Circle,
Broadway at 60th Street, NYC - CenterCharge: 212-721-6500 - http://www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/
). The show was devoted to "Songs From
The Movies."
This particular
evening featured rare live appearances by the following movie musical
icons: Ann Blyth, Arlene Dahl, Jane Powell. The evening also featured
Margaret Whiting, daughter of film composer Richard Whiting; Ava
Astaire Mackenzie, daughter of Fred Astaire; and Sally Ann Howes,
British actress who made one Hollywood musical but has appeared
on Broadway in many musicals. All of the songs for the evening were
songs that were written for the movies. The featured performers
were Judy Barnett, Martha Brown, Joan Curto, Valerie Lemon, Maude
Maggart, Sharon McNight, Jeffrey Miller, Phillip Officer, Julie
Reyburn, Barbara Rosene, Craig Rubano, Jennifer Sheehan, KT Sullivan,
and Eric Jordan Young.
Unlike
the other evenings of the convention so far, each performer appeared
for one or two numbers and then re-appeared later in the concert
for additional numbers. It was a long evening, starting about 6:15
pm and not finishing until well after 9:30 pm. The other programs
this year have run from 6:15 pm until 8:40, 9:10, 8:45 pm.
Donald
Smith, the Executive Director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation, began
the evening by acknowledging the conventions benefactors and partners,
making a special mention of Anita Jaffe. He then introduced Robert
Osborne, the host on Turner Classic Movies cable channel, Hollywood
Report columnist, and author of several books on the movies, including
the history of the Academy Awards year by year. Mr. Osborne told
a funny story about seeing a song in a movie as a child performed
by a wild girl in a lot of feathers. The song was entitled "Injun
Girl Heap Hep" by Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin and Joseph Lilley, and
he told us it was performed by Dorothy Lamour in a movie called
"Riding High." This viewing experience started him on his life long
love of the movies and especially movie musicals.
Mr. Osborne
then introduced MGM's own Jane Powell. Ms. Powell, looking radiantly
young, announced that she was not going to sing because she could
no longer sing the way she sang in the movies. Instead, she related
her life as a child in Portland, Oregon, going to movies and singing
the numbers at home. If it was an Astaire movie, she would pretend
she was dancing with him in her basement. She was discovered singing
locally and signed to an MGM contract. Most of the songs she sang
in the movies were classical but she was thrilled when she was cast
with Astaire in "Royal Wedding." Alan Jay Lerner & Burton Lane wrote
the score to "Royal Wedding" which included her introducing the
wonderful "Too Late Now." After telling more stories about co-starring
with Howard Keel in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" she introduced
Valerie Lemon who sang a beautiful legit version of "Too Late Now."
Ms. Lemon is currently doing her show, The Jane Froman Songbook,
at HELEN'S RESTAURANT, CABARET & PIANO LOUNGE (169 Eighth Avenue,
NYC - 212-206-0609 - http://www.helensnyc.com/
) and the remaining performances are on October 23rd, 24th and 27th.
Craig Rubano
was next, singing a slow, beautiful version of Cole Porter's "Easy
to Love" including the seldom sung verse. After Rubano, KT Sullivan
appeared in a stunning black dress and sang, in Italian and English,
"An Affair To Remember" telling the story of how Deborah Kerr starred
in the movie but Marni Nixon was the singing voice of Ms. Kerr.
Donald Smith then appeared to present the Dick Gallagher Award to
KT's pianist, James Followell. Mr. Followell played for most of
the performers this evening.
Jeffrey
Miller, a lean man with a big voice, came out and sang "Go The Distance"
by Alan Menken and David Zippel from Disney's "Hercules." It was
very impressive. Miller will be appearing at DANNY'S SKYLIGHT ROOM
(346 West 46th Street, NYC - 1-212-265-8133 - http://www.dannysgrandseapalace.com/
) on November 2nd and November 8th.
Statuesque
beauty Martha Brown from San Francisco came out and sang a sweet
rendition of "Happiness is Just A Thing Called Joe."
Mr. Osborne
introduced Fred Astaire's daughter, Ava Astaire MacKenzie. She told
the audience what a wonderful father Astaire was and of the wonderful
times she spent as a child in the company of songwriters like Irving
Berlin and Cole Porter. She announced that the next four songs were
songs that Fred Astaire had introduced in the movies.
The first
performer of the Astaire songs was Eric Jordan Young who is currently
appearing on Broadway in "Chicago." He was impressive in the Sondheim
concert review "Opening Doors" at Zankel Hall. His first number
was Johnny Mercer's "Something's Gotta Give" which he sang at ballad
tempo. The tempo had the impact of hearing the lyrics for the first
time. After a mild riff break, he soared on the final notes of the
song. Then Mr. Jordan Young doffed a top hat and went to town on
"I Want To Be A Dancing Man" from "The Belle of New York," not necessarily
imitating Astaire, but showing his agile ability as a dancer with
lots of Fosse energy driven moves.
The second
performer of the Astaire songs was Judy Barnett. Appearing with
a big jazz ensembles (including four in the horn section: a trumpet,
a trombone, and two saxes), she rocked with Irving Berlin's "Let's
Face the Music and Dance" from "Follow the Fleet and then the Jerome
Kern/Dorothy Fields number "The Way You Look Tonight" from "Swing
Time."
Mr. Osborne
then introduced Sally Ann Howes, detailing her career as a child
star in dramatic films such as "Dead of Night" and "Nicholas Nickleby"
and her appearance in only one movie musical. Ms. Howes, elegant
and beautiful, told of how growing up during the war (World War
II), she sought refuge in movies and most movies were in black and
white. Suddenly the Hollywood movies were in technicolor, movies
like the Rita Hayworth movie "Cover Girl," and her big ambition
was to star in a big musical. She appeared in many musicals in London
and on Broadway and one day got the call that they wanted her for
a big Disney musical, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" playing the character
called Truly Scrumptious. She related how on the day she sat down
to hear the score she heard all the songs but none for her character
except a four or five line bit which she proceeded to sing to the
audience's delight. She then mentioned how much she loved the scoring
to movies and would often close her eyes as a child to listen only
to the underscoring. She told us that several movie scores had lyrics
added to them after the movies were made and introduced one by David
Raksin. The lyrics were added by Johnny Mercer. Craig Rubano reappeared
and sang a version of "Laura" that included the seldom heard verse.
It was beautiful.
Philip
Officer came out and sang medley of Henry Mancini/Leslie Bricusse
"Two For The Road" and Marvin Hamlisch/Marilyn & Alan Bergman "The
Way We Were." Again, the lyrics were interpreted superbly, making
them sound fresh and moving as if we were hearing them for the first
time.
Another
movie theme that had lyrics added to it was the Ken Darby/Alfred
Newman song from "Desiree," "We'll Meet Again." The rarely heard
song was sung by Valerie Lemon with all its almost classical beauty.
The fabulous
Julie Reyburn came out to sing a seasonal medley, the one she did
in her last show. The songs were "The Summer Knows," from "Summer
of '42," "Summer Me Winter Me," from "Picasso Summer" and "You Must
Believe in Spring" from "Umbrellas of Cherbourg," all Michel LeGrand/Marilyn
& Alan Bergman compositions. The medley was one of the highlights
of the evening.
Just before
intermission, the beautiful Maude Maggart sang Irving Berlin's "You
Keep Coming Back Like A Song."
After the
intermission, Mr. Osborne introduced the elegant and beautiful Arlene
Dahl. She told of growing up in Minnesota, loving the movies, and
taking singing, dancing, and acting lessons as a young girl, working
to rid herself of her Norwegian accent. She would write to all the
stars for their 8x10 photos and worshipped Jeanette MacDonald and
Nelson Eddy. She told how she went to New York as a young girl,
dreaming of starring on Broadway. She got a small part in a musical,
"Mr. Strauss Goes To Boston." On opening night, two men knocked
on the dressing room she shared with several chorus girls. They
presented their cards, Jack Warner and Sol Biano of Warner Brothers.
Ms. Dahl thought it was a practical joke when they asked her if
she would come to Hollywood to make a test and told them she couldn't
possibly because she had a run-of-the-play contract. Mr. Warner
whispered to her that he thought the play would run only fourteen
days.
It turned
out to be true, so Ms. Dahl called Mr. Warner and they paid for
her way to Hollywood to make a test. She thought she was terrible
in the test but the studio liked it and starred her in her first
picture, "My Wild Irish Rose," a musical starring Dennis Morgan
but she did not sing a note, spent most of the time looking up at
him singing to her. The Warners never let her sing in a movie.
Later,
she got a contract at MGM and still was not cast in musicals. She
met Fred Astaire one night when they were at a private screening
of "The Red Shoes." All the Hollywood types were deriding the movie
and Moira Shearer but at the end Astaire confided in her that all
the others didn't know anything, the movie was a classic!
Ms. Dahl
was finally cast in a musical, "Three Little Words" a musical biography
of the songwriting team Ruby & Kalmer. She related how generous
and protective Astaire was, helping her with her choreography and
coming to the set when she was doing her musical numbers. Her only
other musical experience in Hollywood, she related, was one night
when she sang at the Academy Awards the nominated song that won.
KT Sullivan
and Craig Rubano came out to do the winning song
Ms. Dahl sang, a Frank Loesser song from "Neptune's Daughter,"
"Baby It's Cold Outside." Ms. Sullivan told the zany plot of the
movie and sang Esther Williams part to Mr. Rubano's Ricardo Montalban
part. Ms. Sullivan then related the second chorus was done by Betty
Garrett and Red Skelton with Garrett taking the aggressive pursuer's
part. They proceeded to do both parts of the song, to the audience's
delight.
Sharon
McNight, who is currently doing her "Betty Betty Bette" show at
THE DUPLEX CABARET THEATRE (61 Christopher Street, NYC - 1-212-255-5438
- http://www.theduplex.com/
) came out and told us she was going to do a routine from a classic
movie that she has been doing for many years. It was her classic
rendition of all the parts in "The Wizard of Oz" from Dorothy's
landing in Oz until she begins to "follow the yellow brick road'.
Ms. McNight commanded the stage, shifting from character to character,
from Glinda the Good Witch, to the Munchkins, to the Wicked Witch
of the West, and back to Dorothy. It was as fresh and funny as the
day she first did it.
Valerie
Lemon returned to sing Jimmy McHugh-Dorothy Fields song from "Every
Night at Eight" the gentle "I'm In the Mood for Love." She was followed
by Maude Maggart, this time singing Irving Berlin's "Let's Go Slumming
on Park Avenue" from "On The Avenue" in a winsome, fun manner.
The beautifully
contoured Joan Curto from Chicago did a classy interpretation of
Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night" from the movie "Rosalie."
Mr. Osborne
then introduced the great Margaret Whiting. Ms. Whiting began to
tell fabulous stories about her father, how when he was hired to
come to Hollywood, he met his future collaborator, Leo Robin on
the train. They liked each other so much they changed their accommodations
to a drawing room for the rest of the trip. One of their first assignments
was to write for Maurice Chevalier. They had to write a love song
and Chevalier told them there were certain girls names he could
not sing. He needed simple names, like "Louise." The rest is history.
She told back stories on how "Too Marvelous for Words" and "Hooray
for Hollywood" were written, and the fun story about writing the
train song for Jeanette MacDonald, "Beyond the Blue Horizon." Joan
Curto returned and sang a rousing rendition of the song.
Martha
Brown came back and sang the Mercer/Mancini "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
song, "Moon River."
Barbara
Rosene appeared and told about a 1929 movie "Sweetie." It featured
the boop-a-doop girl, Helen Kane, and she sang "I Think You'll Like
It" from that movie in the style of Helen Kane.
Jennifer
Sheehan, 20, was quite impressive at last year's convention and
returned tonight to do a stunning "My Shining Hour" from "Radio
Stars on Parade."
Sharon
McNight returned to do one number from her three Bettys show: the
Mercer/Schwarzinger Betty Hutton number "Arthur Murray Taught Me
Dancing in a Hurry" from "The Fleet's In." Ms. McNight animated
all the Hutton movies and choreographic missteps and was just as
funny as Hutton was at her peak.
Mr. Osborne
then introduced the stunningly youthful looking Ann Blyth. She told
how she grew up in New York City, doing children's radio shows,
singing in a New York accent the song "Lazy Bones."which she proceeded
to do. She told how lucky she was to be as a young girl to be in
the original production of Lillian Hellman's hit play "Watch on
the Rhine." She toured with the play and while she was in Hollywood
she was signed by Universal. She made her first of many movies with
Donald O'Connor, "The Merry Monahans" with Jack Oakie. She talked
about how helpful they were with this young inexperienced girl.
She told how lucky she was to work on loan-out on the film that
most people remember her for, "Mildred Pierce." She said that Joan
Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden were so gracious
and helpful to her. She said that she also played another wicked
part, the young Regina in "Another Part of the Forest" with Fredric
March.
When she
was signed to an MGM contract she got to do singing roles with big
Howard Keel, "Rose Marie" and "Kismet" in which she sang one of
her favorite songs, "Baubles, Bangles and Beads." She mourned the
loss of the big Hollywood musicals which enriched our lives and
fed our souls. She had done a film with Bing Crosby and told the
story of how Irving Berlin wrote "White Christmas" when he was on
assignment in Hollywood and away from his family. KT Sullivan returned
and did a straightforward version of "White Christmas" including
the voice and showing us all how the song is still effective.
Jennifer
Sheehan returned and sang "Over the Rainbow." Jeffrey Miller returned
and sang an animated version of a song from the 1929 musical "Show
of Shows." It seemed to be entitled "I'm Singing In the Bath Tub"
and was great fun. Philip Officer returned and sang the love theme
from the animated movie, "Anastasia," "Journey to the Past" by Lynn
Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, and blended with "It Goes Like It Goes"
from "Norma Rae." Barbara Rosene returned and sang "Sweet Moon Song
That Wasn't Meant for Me" from "Hello, Everybody."
KT Sullivan
returned and began "Thanks for the Memory." After she sang the first
chorus the guests returned, one by one, and each one in turn sang
a chorus of the song in beautiful clear voices: Jane Powell, Ann
Blyth, Sally Anne Howes, Arlene Dahl,. They were then joined by
all the performers and presenters.
It was
a long night but there were many unforgettable moments and the musical
movie stars of yesteryear's stories were all personably told and
made that part of the night special. But it was a long night and
caused me to remember how at some of the early cabaret conventions,
which always started at 6pm, were over in time to make an 8 o'clock
theater curtain.
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