Cabaret Review by Marilyn Lester . . . .
Remember that 1984 hit film whose eponymous song had the call-and-response refrain: “Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!” Well, for aspiring cabaret performers, that “who ya gonna call?” can only also be answered by one name—Marilyn Maye! And so it was for John Philip, whose day job as an attorney was crafted to let him pursue his first love of performing. Beginning as an actor, it could only follow that singing would come next and, in this pursuit, he quite naturally focused on training by the best of the best, the Marvelous Marilyn Maye. The result, his debut cabaret, Oceans of Love and Life, directed by Maye, was as charming and delightful as any launch could be.
To set the tone, there was Philip’s philosophy of positivism in the opener “Today I Love Everybody” (Arlen/Fields), “Old Friends” (Sondheim) and “Accentuate the Positive” (Arlen/Mercer). A medley you say? Of course; they are a Maye trademark. Her medleys are fun, and beautifully thought out and constructed (often with the various numbers weaving in and out of each other, creating a musical tapestry); Maye’s medleys, therefore, cover a lot of ground in their thematic messaging. Another Maye trademark is the special lyrics she devises and subtly inserts into the songs—always a treat. From this opener, Philip moved through a flow of song and narrative to love and oceans with aplomb and ease, singing through a gamut of emotions. One segment, “When I Fall in Love” (Young/Heyman), “Everybody Plays the Fool” (Bailey/Clark/Williams) and “Falling in Love with Love” (Rodgers/Hart) addressed hope and dashed hope. But a little later on in the set, all was well again with “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” (Berlin).
When Maye works with a performer, her instincts, canny eye and experience are quick to spot strengths (and potential weaknesses). In Philip, her thoughts went to Rex Harrison, who as the mega-star of My Fair Lady, wrapped his skills around a melody with singspiel, a fluid combination of vocalizing and speaking. With his acting chops, Philip proved adept of this style of delivery. Throughout Oceans of Love and Life his interpretive abilities made for authentic and engaging story telling. Even the light-hearted “I Won’t Dance” (Kern/Hammerstein/Harbach/Fields/McHugh) had nuance, heft and oomph.
The dance medley, with “Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry” (Schertzinger/Mercer), was one of several comic numbers in the set. And when it got to the ocean segment of the show, that game was upped with a comic salute to piracy in “A Pirate Looks at Forty” (Buffet) and the marvelous “Yo Ho! (A Pirate’s Life for Me)” (Bruns/Atencio). Although thoughts of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance were conjured, alas those tunes might be for another time. But there was an international twist to the ocean segment of the show in French, “La Mer” (Trenet) and the English translation “Beyond the Sea” (English lyric by J. Lawrence), and the closer, Sir Noël Coward’s heady “Sail Away,” a metaphorical tune about self-care and the ultimate curative power of love.
In a show that seamlessly rode the musical waves as a fresh sea breeze, what consistently shone through was Philip’s absolute joy and enthusiasm for singing. It was easy to understand why creating a career as a self-employed attorney paid the bills and yet allowed him to pursue his passion to perform. Musical support in Oceans of Love and Life came from a singer’s best friend at the piano, music director David Pearl, and go-to bassist and drummer, Tom Hubbard with Ray Marchica on drums, respectively.
Oceans of Love and Life will be performed again on Sunday, April 28 at 4pm, Friday, May 17 at 7pm, and Friday, June 14 at 7pm at Don’t Tell Mama. For tickets, visit donttellmamanyc.com
Photos: Richard Hillman
