EVERYTHING THE TRAFFIC WILL ALLOW Is Everything a Tribute Show Should Be

I don’t think the kinetic Klea Blackhurst’s performance experience includes having been shot out of a cannon, but I wouldn’t doubt it.  Her slam-bang show STARTS with a bang as she bursts onto the stage, singing with brio, brightly blasting out the very long sustained, lovably loud note in replacing the name in the title line of the Rodgers & Hart showpiece “Johnny One Note” with references to the subject of her tribute show:  “Ethel could only sing one note and the note she sang was this: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  The Ethel in question is musical comedy legend Ethel Merman, who’s been her idol/role model/obsession since she was in grade school in Utah.  Note that the dazzling mega-note recalls one in the number by the Gershwins that Merman introduced in the show that introduced her to Broadway in 1930: Girl Crazy’s crazy-long note in “I Got Rhythm.”  Of course, blithely blasting Blackhurst does that one, too, among many others introduced by the icon.  This well-conceived act gets its title from a line in the chipper anthem about how there’s no business like the one called show business: Everything the Traffic Will Allow.  And I can sum up my reaction to the performance by quoting the sentence that comes right before that phrase in the lyric: “Everything about it is appealing.”  

The appeal and zeal are not a surprise to those of us who’ve seen this cabaret program of pizzazz in the past or who have heard the CD of the material.  She’s sort of stepped into Merman’s shoes to follow in the lady’s non-dainty footsteps, having trod the boards over the years, cast in steamrolling roles in productions of Anything Goes, Gypsy, Panama Hattie, Happy Hunting, Annie Get Your Gun, and Hello, Dolly! —and playing the star herself in Merman’s Apprentice, co-written by Merman pal/ fellow admirer Stephen Cole (who was in the audience).  Via nature or nurture or study or determined osmosis, Klea Blackhurst seems cut from the same cloth as Ethel Merman and eagerly wraps herself in that cloth, for the fit must be considered tailor-made. 

Accompaniment was splendidly spiffy; analogous to the singer not doing an imitation or exaggeration, but was in the spirit.  The charts have originality and zing, honoring but not aping the Broadway roots. Michael Rice’s trio arrangements were played with flair by pianist Bruce Barnes, percussionist Aaron Russell, and cabaret’s ubiquitous terrific bassist Tom Hubbard.  For “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries,” the vocalist accompanied herself on her trusty ukulele, disarmingly flavoring the philosophy with a carefree innocence.   

Interesting biographical facts were sprinkled in, without the enthused and dedicated disciple ever appearing like a nutty professor of history or a worshipful fan club president who thinks the beloved star was a saint with no ego.  Typically terse quotations of Merman’s were included, such as her response when asked by a dress designer what she planned to do with her hair (“I’m gonna wash it.”)  Represented were both the smash hits that lit up Broadway for years and the lesser lights, such as the not-so-happy experience with Happy Hunting, described by Merman as her “jeep among limousines—if you don’t mind a bumpy road, it gets you there all right.” The cavalcade of Merman musical memories wasn’t presented in a strictly chronological order, wisely preventing predictability of the “And her next musical was…” routine or the bunching up of selections with equal familiarity or similar flavors; some ballads among the bombast gave balance.  (Yes, there were ballads written for the belter, and the Chelsea audience heard a warm, restrained, creamier voice bringing vulnerability.)  

Everything the Traffic Will Allow allows those new to the Blackhurst and/or Merman admiration society to become welcomed as converts or cautiously curious and lets the rest of us renew our membership.  Both camps were present; those at my table had a couple of each. Cheers, prolonged applause, and laughter filled the room.  Klea Blackhurst is a mesmerizing treat; I got lost in her charms.

The singer will be back at Chelsea Table + Stage (152 West 26 Street in Manhattan, in the Hilton Hotel) for her survey of the work of songwriter Vernon Duke on April 14 and she’ll return later in the season with her Jerry Herman program. Tickets to the April 14 show are available here on Chelsea Table + Stage's website.

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