By Ron Fassler . . . 

I’ve always imagined what it must have been like to attend a dinner party at Ira Gershwin’s house in Beverly Hills back in the day when, late in the evening, his friends would gather around the piano to sing. You know, all the dear pals like Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. 

Well, the next best thing happened Monday evening when dear pals Anita Gillette and Lee Roy Reams took to the stage at Birdland’s Jazz Club for one night only, accompanied by Phil Reno’s special brand of magic on the piano. What transpired was an entertainment as cozy as being in Mr. Gershwin’s living room. The intimacy and obvious affection between these two, sometimes feeding each other lyrics, or the next cue, with love and care, was palpable. Seeing two such Broadway veterans together for the first time on stage (hard to believe) gave living proof that age is merely a number.

Lee Roy Reams, Anita Gillette

Speaking of firsts, a discussion began immediately after their opening number, Stephen Sondheim’s “Old Friends,” which led to stories behind each of their first kisses (not with one another). Though the show was constructed quickly (as both were quick to explain), none of it mattered, as the audience embraced the pair in a hug that lasted the full hour’s running time. Anita did a full fifteen minutes or more of songs that bore relation to her sixty-plus year career in the theater, including such gems as Gene De Paul and Sammy Cahn’s “Teach Me Tonight” and Irving Berlin’s “How Deep is the Ocean?” With regards to the latter, Anita’s decades-long friendship with Berlin begat an entire show devoted to their relationship, “Me and Mr. B,” which I was fortunate to see in 2018, also at Birdland.

All the while, Lee Roy Reams sat stage right and beamed as Anita sang her set, alternating between touching and hilarious stories. When it was Anita’s turn to sit it out, it was equally as inspiring to watch her watch him. It was that sort of evening.

As for Lee Roy’s turn at the mike, he provided the audience with an expert and heartwarming tribute to Jerry Herman, someone with whom he had a relationship not unlike Anita’s and Mr. B. The medley he sang of at least eight songs from Herman’s masterwork, Mack & Mabel (I lost count), was simply thrilling. The kind of ease he has onstage, combined with the sort of showmanship he shares with Anita—that nobody is around to teach anymore—makes the case for preserving a show like this one on video for future generations to study.

Lee Roy Reams, Anita Gillette

To have watched the years melt away as these two consummate pros gained more and more force as the minutes ticked by was a thing of beauty. By the time they found their way to a rendition of our country’s “unofficial” national anthem, “God Bless America” (Mr. Berlin, yet again), it was nearly impossible not to get a lump in your throat. 

The evening ended with the great contrapuntal duet, “You’re Just in Love,” which Berlin composed for Ethel Merman and Russell Nype in Call Me Madam, which, if you believe its history, stopped the show on its opening night with the audience demanding several encores. As for the crowd at Birdland, it would have happily gone the extra mile for Lee Roy and Anita, embracing encore after encore after encore.

An Evening With Anita Gillette and Lee Roy Reams took place Monday, June 13 at Birdland (315 West 44th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). www.birdlandjazz.com 

Photos: Ron Fassler