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Cotton Club Parade
NY City Center, NYC - November 2011
Review by John Kenrick
There was a whole lotta shoutin' going as
audiences hailed Cotton Club Parade, an exciting tribute to the legendary Harlem
club where Duke Ellington once
shared the spotlight with the Nicholas Brothers, Bessie Smith, Ethel
Waters and a young Lena Horne. City Center Encores teamed with Jazz at Lincoln
Center to bring some of Broadway's finest together with a stellar lineup
of instrumentalists, resulting in glorious period-perfect entertainment.
Wynton Marsalis (already a musical treasure in his own right) and his amazing Jazz at Lincoln
Center ensemble were center stage for the entire 90 minute celebration
-- a perfect approach, since the music was the true star of this
production. From familiar numbers like "I Can't Give You Anything
But Love" to rarities like "East St. Louis Toodle-oo,"
the sounds of a long-lost era were as alive and thrilling as ever,
giving delighted listeners no choice but to cheer and stomp and roar
their approval.
Director Warren Carlyle laid out a deftly paced and
brilliantly modulated program, wisely stressing the talents of the
performers and keeping physical elements to a refreshingly tasteful
minimum. A bench or lamppost here, a short staircase there, reserving a
handsome cascade of nightclub drapes and chandeliers for the final few
numbers. Carlyle's fine choreography combined classic tap with
hints of contemporary street dancing, showcasing some fine ensemble work
(ah, the simple genius accomplished with a few balloons in
"I've Got the World on a String") and allowing soloists of
both sexes to take dazzling turns. The poetry of Langston Hughes
provided the only spoken sequences, too little to be called a narrative
but enough to enrich the proceedings.
While the entire ensemble made
solid contributions, special praise goes to Adriane Lenox for delicious
renditions of "Women Be Wise" and "Go Back Where You
Stayed Last Night," to Alexandria "Brinae Ali" Bradley
for some dazzling tap, and to every member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center
Orchestra.
I hope this is not the last the world will see of Cotton
Club Parade. With a bit more material and a tad of reshaping,
it could easily be the highlight of any Broadway season. This kind of
sheer pleasure is never in sufficient supply.
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