Last year, the Mercury Theater opened its Venus Cabaret Theater, an 80-seat venue for the kind of small-scale performances that play well to audiences with Chambord cocktails in hand. AN UNFORGETTABLE NAT KING COLE CHRISTMAS, co-produced by Michael Ingersoll’s Artists Lounge Live and the Mercury Theater Chicago, fits neatly into the space as well as the concept. Before vocalist Evan Tyrone Martin took the stage, Ingersoll defined Artists Lounge Live as a showcase for 40s, 50s and 60s musical artists. Or, as he puts it, “music you can understand the words to.”
Martin delivered on Ingersoll’s promise. The young vocalist, accompanied by a five-piece band, sang each lyric from Nat King Cole’s repertoire with crystalline precision. An interpreter rather than an impersonator, Martin strongly channels Cole with his blend of love songs like “Unforgettable” and “Mona Lisa” and traditional fare like “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night.” Amid the raucous holiday onslaught, Martin’s renditions of Cole standards are almost like a retreat: soothing, enriching and affirming.
One revue, two stories in AN UNFORGETTABLE NAT KING COLE CHRISTMAS
Martin’s kinship with Cole goes beyond vocal resonance. The young Chicago performer shares a deep connection to the seminal jazz artist. The son of a Baptist preacher and a church choir director, Cole moved with his family from Alabama to Chicago in 1923 when he was four. His passion for music came early. Martin, raised in Chicago as a preacher’s son, also had an early passion for music. Though his father was strict – no Christmas decorations allowed before December 1st and other rules – he was also supportive of his son’s talent. Martin speaks of him with an uncommon degree of respect and affection.
By intermission, this viewer wondered if we’d learn as much about Nat King Cole in Act II as we did about Martin in Act I. By the show’s end, we did get a clearer picture. Among other achievements, Cole became the first African American to have his name in the title of a TV show. But NBC had trouble attracting advertising sponsors. Martin quotes Cole’s response to The Nat ‘King’ Cole Show’s financial struggles: “I guess Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.”
ARTISTS LOUNGE LIVE puts Nat King Cole in perspective
Cole created one hit after another for Capitol Records, many of which Martin included along with a few lesser known works. Cole stayed with the label until his death from cancer – a secret closely guarded by his wife – in 1965 at age 45. Along the way, explains Martin, Cole went from a national to an international sensation.
Proof of Cole’s international reach sat right in the audience. A South African woman in her 70s followed just about every number knowingly. As a teen in Johannesburg, she danced with friends to a mix – and not one generated by computers – of Nat King Cole songs along with swing, jazz, rhythm & blues and early rock ‘n roll. The unifying feature to these various genres is obvious: It’s music you can understand the words to.
RECOMMENDED
Cast:
Evan Tyrone Martin (vocalist), Jo Ann Daughtery (piano/music director), Andy Pratt (guitar), Joshua Ramos (bass), Ryan Bennett (drums), Rajiv Halim (woodwinds)
When:
Monday, December 16 and Tuesday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Writer's Theatre/Nichols Theatre
Tickets:
$60+
For full price tickets and information, go to Writers Theatre website or call 847-242-6000
Check for Half-Price Deals from Hot Tix:
Photos courtesy of Mercury Theater
Note: Picture This Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago
About the Author
Susan Lieberman is a Jeff-winning playwright, journalist, teacher and script consultant who commits most of her waking hours to Chicago theatre. Her radio drama In the Shadows aired on BBC Radio 4 last season.
Editor's Note: Click here to find more Picture This Post reviews by Susan Lieberman
