For those suffering withdrawal following the ‘American Idol’ finale, Theatre Palisades offers an antidote: a musical revue, also designed to suit those who never watched ‘Idol,’ preferring their entertainment less manufactured, more real. ‘Smokey Joe’s Cafe,’ with music and lyrics by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, opened last Friday at the Pierson Playhouse. Whatever your take on pop culture and taste in music, you’re likely to find something to enjoy here. The production showcases 37 hits from the ’50s and ’60s originally performed by The Coasters, Elvis Presley, The Drifters, Peggy Lee and other pop, rock ‘n’ roll and R & B artists. ’Smokey Joe’s’ debuted on Broadway in 1995, garnering seven Tony nominations and winning a Grammy for the cast soundtrack. The playbill notes that the production is ‘an homage to the original Broadway version,’ so some of the credit or blame, for what works or doesn’t, may fall elsewhere. Filled with standards such as Presley’s ‘Hound Dog,’ The Coasters’ ‘Searchin’,’ and ‘There Goes My Baby,’ recorded by The Drifters, the song list could seem dauntingly long, but the show is generally well paced. The vocal performances are mixed, but everyone in the nine-member company has at least one song that allows them to grab hold of the audience and not let go. The two dance captains, Amy Coles and Jacob Nixon, offer the most consistently energetic showmanship. One member of the audience at intermission said Nixon had the ‘loose ankles’ of a ‘real dancer,’ and his abilities are highlighted in a turn as a jangly-limbed drunk for ‘D. W. Washburn’ and in the enthusiastic gospel hallelujah of ‘Saved.’ Other moments fall a bit flat because too much is left on the performer’s shoulders. This is community theatre, without the big budget, eye-catching sets and dazzling gimmickry of Broadway, so the company already has a lot of pressure to capture the modern audience’s short attention span. The quick set changes further limit set and prop choices. But sometimes a little can go a very long way. Coles does a great job with just a chair, a sparkly black dress, and a hot pink boa about 12 feet long in the winkingly seductive ‘Don Juan’ and ‘Some Cats Know.’ And in ‘Teach Me How To Shimmy,’ a white go-go dress, draped in rows of fringe and animated by Kristin Towers-Rowles as she gives herself over, body and soul, to the shimmy, does not need any help holding the stage. It’s one example of costume designer Ann Somers Major’s ability to outfit the company in strong style through numerous changes. Some of the songs also stand on their own, riding on the audience’s excitement at hearing the first bars of a beloved oldie. Saturday night’s crowd was swept up more than once, clapping in rhythm and even singing along. Yet even typical crowd-pleasers can fall short, such as ‘On Broadway.’ It’s a tough melody to begin with, and it’s one of the times when sound is an issue for the show. The band’s volume overwhelms the singers, though the four-man orchestra offers a good performance throughout. And without microphones, only some of the show’s singers do a consistently good job of projecting to the back of the house. A handful of sets could have benefited from different casting, but when director Lewis Hauser gets it right, he really gets it right. Michelle Tuthill couldn’t have asked for a better chance to break the audience’s heart than with ‘Pearl’s A Singer.’ Hauser and co-director Victoria Miller shouldn’t have felt the need to include all four women in ‘I’m A Woman’ just because of a gender match. Tuthill and Rena Phillips’ life experience and big, belting voices power their contributions. But Coles and Towers-Rowles, great elsewhere, don’t match up here. Clever choreography by Miller manages to turn some songs into skits, even without a book. Steven Flowers also deserves special mention for his warm and winning singing and dancing. He’s at ease whether leading or backing, and if the company were a sports team, he’d be named best utility player. Overall, ‘Smokey Joe’s’ is well worth seeing, and youngsters who think ‘It’s not my kind of music’ might be surprised to find themselves clapping their hands along with those recalling the magic of first hearing these songs. ’Smokey Joe’s Cafe’ plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through July 19 at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Road. Tickets: 310-454-1970.
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