Da Man, Louis Jordan
In grand Arizona Theatre Company tradition, Phoenix audiences were treated to a splashy, fun musical to ring in the new year. This season's offering is Five Guys Named Moe, a lesser known production created by Clarke Peters based on Louis Jordan's greatest hits of the 1940's. I have enjoyed many of ATC's jazzy musicals in the past and assumed Moe was going to fit the previous "stereo" types. While the talented six man cast was extraordinary, the weak attempt at a story in the first act was at times extraordinarily painful.
The best part of this show was the music itself. You may recognize a few of Jordan's hits, like "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" or others songs that he popularized such as "What's the Use of Gettin' Sober" (when your gonna get drunk again). Unfortunately, Peters felt the need to introduce a story to string us along from song to song.
* [Warning: major editorial comment]The one thing I detest about musicals the caliber of South Pacific and Oklahoma and even Dorothy et al, is the unnatural habit of bursting into song in the middle of dialogue. Either have a play or have a musical. Get off the fence! [Soapbox de-mounted]
The first act dragged by slowly for me when the five guys, all named Moe (never did find out the significance of this), came out of one boy named Nomax's radio to tell him what he had done wrong with his lady, Loraine. Why she wasn't named Maxium I don't know. As Nomax would lament, the five guys would take turns telling him what he should or shouldn't do. There were more than a few stretches to get some of the advice to match up with a song.
Teren Carter as Nomax did a fair job as an urban-yet-suburban hipster and provided a few laughs. Big Moe, played by Robert F. Chew, was the sympathetic narrator and designated heavy man. His fatherly but funky character was one of the few that was fully developed. Little Moe's Steven X. Ward was easily a crowd favorite. As well as having a great singing voice, he appeared to continuously hover two inches above the stage. His effortless dancing was a joy to watch. Four-Eyed Moe blossomed late in the first act when Darren Lee Frazier leaded the crowd in a "New Calypso Be Bop" sing along. He later proved quick witted as well when, surprised to find a young women brought on to the stage was only 14, he surmised "Fourteen year olds sure didn't look like that when I was growing up... Milk; it does the body good!"
After intermission, I was treated to what I had expected to see: a musical revue with little inane banter between each number. The setting was now the Funky Butt Club, the excuse for our five guys to belt out number after number. David White as Eat Moe didn't get much support from the weak plot. He's only concern seemed to be where his next meal was coming from. White had at least one solo that I can remember, but it wasn't anything flashy and thus, not particularly memorable. James Doberman's No Moe was not well development either, but Doberman's smooth baritone and outstanding dancing ability and agility, (from tap to calypso to a little strip tease) allowed him the most memorable performances.
On the technical side, there were a couple of microphone problems, in fact only two, and they were handled very professionally. Tracy Odishaw, veteran ATC lighting designer, offered up a wonderful Eiffel Tower tableau. There were a few times in the beginning numbers that the spotlight on the black men's faces gave their skin a slight green hue, but I don't know if it was that noticeable to others. The audience participation segments worked well; the conga line and sing along sparked the beginning of the party that should have started from minute one. Only goofy dialogue and segues stopped me from having fun.
And let us not forget THE musical director to have if you are putting on a show in Phoenix, Mr. Jerry Wayne Harkey, or as he was referred to in this production, JerryMo. Able to lead his live orchestra to perfection, don an occasional acting mask for a brief announcement or two, or just to watch him pound the keys, it is a wonder that New York or LA haven't snagged this Phoenix gem.
Speaking of New York, the entire cast is from the Big Apple. The director, Kent Gash, is from LA This is the first ATC show I've seen in a long while that ATC Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein did not direct. While Gash has directed and choreographed this show previously, I couldn't help but wonder what Goldstein may have brought to the table. His choreography for previous Shakespeare productions were on the whole more interesting than the mostly normal fair in Five Guys, although "Safe, Sane and Single" stood out as the most dynamic.
On the whole, another class production from ATC. If you are like me and hate chit chat between your great blues hits, Five Guys Named Moe is still worth seeing for the 3/4 of the production that shows off great songs, great voices, great dancers, and great fun.
Review of
Five Guys Named Moe presented by ATC
Run continues through January 25
Call ATC Box office at 265-6995 for best ticket prices.
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