I Got Rhythm! A Tribute to George & Ira Gershwin
I Got Rhythm! A Tribute to George & Ira Gershwin
Musical Direction by Chris Leavy
The Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park, FL</strong>
The Winter Park Playhouse experience continues to grow in elegance. This evening, musical director Chris Leavy serenades the preshow crowd with an improved a medley of famous show tunes, perfectly matching the keys and time signatures as he works though hits from “Les Mis” and “Annie” and who knows what else. The WPPH management got their moneys’ worth out of him tonight; besides the preshow, he played for “I Got Rhythm Show” as well as another impromptu medley for the intermission.
Inside the theatre, Leavy is joined by the always impressive drummer Sam Forrest, adding jazz highlights to the show. This collection of songs and anecdotes was assembled by the entire show cast, and covers highlights and obscurities from the Gershwin brothers, who were possibly the most financially sucessful of the 20th century composers. The challenge lies in picking the material – the Gershwin’s wrote hundreds of songs before George died in 1937. The cast did a bouncy conga version of “Fascinating Rhythm” and ‘The Real American Folk Song is A Rag” as well as a catch all “Favorites Medley” to wrap up the first act. Individual highlights include Todd Long and Laura Hodos singing “I Have a Crush on You”. Hodos returns with one of those great abuse songs “Treat Me Rough” and a duet with a drunken Roy Alan “Do It Again.” Heather Alexander put on her best pink boa for “Naughty Baby” and Todd Mummert performed a nice jazzy “Oh, Lady Be Good.”
What striking about this music is how modern is sounds. The jazz and rag influences that the Gershwin’s absorbed became the musical standard of the ’50s and pre rock and roll ’60s. The sheer volume of material available means that no one short of a music major is likely to ever hear or play every Gershwin tune, but this crew gives it a fair shot. The musty sheet music they downloaded off the internet contains some real gems – when’s the last time you heard “The Back Bay Polka” or “What Causes That?”? Here’s the creepy aspect of this show – you go in expecting to have a good time, and you come out educated. Good thing they don’t make you take a test.
For more information on Winter Park Playhouse, please visit http://www.winterparkplayhouse.org
