Review: After a Slow Start, Former JERSEY BOYS Star John Lloyd Young's New Café Carlyle Show Builds to An Enjoyable Crescendo

Performing at the Cafe Carlyle for his fourth time, John Lloyd Young sashayed to the stage on his Tuesday opening night wearing leather and aviator glasses, and with the swagger one would expect from the performer who originated the role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys in 2005 (Young became the only American actor to win the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theater World Awards for a Broadway debut). Fresh off performances at the Kennedy Center, the White House, and Clint Eastwood's humble California abode-and of course his role in the Eastwood directed film adaptation of the improbable Broadway hit-Young combined familiar material from the 1960s with original songs written with his multi-talented musical director, Tommy Faragher (Glee) in his new show, Yours Truly.

Perhaps because Young hasn't performed in an intimate New York venue in some time, the first third of the show felt tentative and surprisingly passionless. I was no more convinced that the singer was smitten in "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" (Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio) than I was of his pain in "Hurts So Bad" (Bobby Hart/Teddy Randazzo/Bobby Weinstein). It didn't help that Young provided so little context for the new show in his opening remarks, which were uttered barely above a whisper. Not until the sixth number, "Ooo Baby Baby" (Pete Moore/Smokey Robinson) did Young come alive. He followed with a soulful, subtly rendered "Show and Tell" (Jerry Fuller) and then delivered 10 knockout numbers in swift succession.

Led by veteran songwriter and Grammy-nominated producer Faragher on piano and keyboards, the band alone was worth the Carlyle's hefty cover charge. As excellent as John Putnam was on the electric guitar, his acoustic solo made me yearn for more in that vein. Paul Socolow on bass and Sam Merrick on drums rounded out the impressive ensemble, which frankly carried the show for the first 20 or so minutes.

With "Just One Smile" (Randy Newman), Young relaxed, noting with self-deprecation that we were free to "compare him unfavorably" with those who have sung the lilting ballad before him, including Dusty Springfield. The beautiful song gave way to an exuberant "Sherry" (Bob Gaudio) and at last Young seemed to be having fun on stage.

Because of their similar musical sensibility and golden tenors, Young invites comparison to his successor in the role of Frankie Valli, Jarrod Spector, whose wildly successful A Little Help From My Friends ran at Feinstein's/54 Below in 2014. Spector's energy is as infectious in speech as it is in song. Young is not without charisma, but this quality emerges mostly when he sings. The best cabaret performers, however, captivate you as much with their stories and sheer force of personality as with their music.

The one moment Young successfully fused anecdote with song was perhaps the evening's most surprising and emotionally intense number: "Ming Ri Tian Ya" ("If Tomorrow Comes"). The Mandarin traditional tells the tragic story of love thwarted by death. Nicely set up by a reference to Young's Italian ancestors who came to Ellis Island and settled in Queens, the song evoked the "raw feelings and intensity of a teenage romantic dreaming aloud" for which Stephen Holden of the New York Times praised Young during his second Carlyle residency.

And then something magical happened, as though the nearly operatic Chinese song broke something open in Young. The next three songs-"Almost There" (Tommy Faragher), "Alone Together" (Tommy Faragher, John Lloyd Young), and "Cold Dawn Calling" (Tommy Faragher/John Lloyd Young)--were edgy and dynamic, generating an unmistakable momentum for a simply amazing "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney).

Given Young's heartfelt thank you to longtime fans willing to support his "evolution" into original material, the disjunction between the earlier and later parts of the show may simply be a matter of artistic growing pains. In any case, Young was at that point fully in command of the room. Harnessing the euphoria of the penultimate song, he closed with a heartbreaking "To Make You Feel My Love" (Bob Dylan), which left me and those seated nearby fumbling for Kleenex-or the Carlyle's cloth napkins. Yours Truly is not a perfect cabaret show, but there's much to love to about it and John Lloyd Young.

John Lloyd Young's Yours Truly continues at the Cafe Carlyle until February 20. Performances will take place Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations made by phone at 212.744.1600 are $85 ($135 for premium seating, $55 for bar seating) Tuesday-Thursday; and $95 ($150 for premium seating, $65 for bar seating) on Friday and Saturday. Café Carlyle is located in The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel (35 East 76th Street, at Madison Avenue).

Photos by David Andrako

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