Review: TONY YAZBECK CELEBRATES TONY BENNETT a Thing Of Joy at 54 Below

Tony Award nominee and 54 Below stalwart, Tony Yazbeck, returned to Broadway’s Living Room this week with his new show THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU.   Now, to be honest, Mr. Yazbeck’s show has two titles - one that is pretty and romantic and vague (the one I have just named), and one that is designed to tell audiences, in no uncertain terms, that which he is presenting:  TONY YAZBECK CELEBRATES TONY BENNETT.   Both of these titles are good titles and both serve their purpose well.  The reason I chose to lead with the more nebulous of the two, the name of the Ray Noble song, is because, during the performance, Mr. Yazbeck delivered a brief monologue about what that song means to him, what it has meant to him during his lifelong devotion to Tony Bennett, and why he wanted to include it in his tribute show’s title.  It was a heartwarming and noteworthy moment in the performance because it demonstrated exactly how much his honoree (and his honoree’s work) has really and truly nourished him in his lifetime.  Occasions present themselves in cabaret and concert rooms when an artist or artists present tribute shows spotlighting another artist that they have chosen at random, or because they thought it would sell tickets.  This is not the case with the Yazbeck Bennett show - and it makes all the difference in the world, when it comes to creating a nightclub act of note.

It is not unusual for Tony Yazbeck to create a nightclub act of note.  It is what he does each and every time he sits down at his desk to craft one of his evenings - and I say that as a kind of mini-expert in the Yazbeck nightclub act lane, having reviewed every one of his shows in the last six years (except for one, which BroadwayWorld correspondent Ricky Pope asked to cover, and who can say no to Ricky Pope?).  Other than that one occasion, this writer is always first in line to get a ticket to a Yazbeck club act, because Tony Yazbeck is in the business of creating art, while entertaining.  He approaches every new show as an author, building an emotional experience for his audiences.  Indeed, on his opening night this week (January 29th), during an impromptu discussion with Musical Director Jerome Korman, Mr. Korman turned to the audience to share a story about working with Tony Yazbeck and praised the headliner for always “pushing us to get to this emotional place.”  It was satisfying to have a Yazbeck colleague validate that which I have been judging from a dining room chair, all these years.  Tony Yazbeck wants to get to an emotional place with his artistry.

Mission accomplished.

Who would have thought that a tribute show to a crooner could lead an audience into so many different rooms, emotionally?  Well THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU  does just that.  There are bright and cheery uptempo numbers, like “On The Sunny Side of the Street” and there are deeply felt ballads like “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” and there are bizarre (and wonderful) new explorations of classics like “I Only Have Eyes For You,” all songs that Tony Yazbeck associates with Tony Bennett.  He hasn’t come to just present Tony Bennett’s versions of these songs - he has come to talk about Tony Bennett, to tell about his life spent loving Tony Bennett, and he has come to take the songs he relates to Tony Bennett and present them the Tony Yazbeck way.  And the Tony Yazbeck way means dance.  Thank goodness.  There is no person working in cabaret and concert who concentrates the incorporation of dance into their show the way Tony Yazbeck does (also, few people work the incorporation of joy into their show the way Tony Yazbeck does, either).  Whether performing a tap routine or a soft shoe, Mr. Yazbeck’s melding of the storytelling through dance, the storytelling through lyrics, and the storytelling through monology is unique to himself, a kind of dance concert as created by the likes of Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins, and George Balanchine … but during their heydays, when they were young and hungry and intent on creating something new.  Every show, every number, every beat, Tony Yazbeck is creating something new.   And that is why this guy wants to be at, wants to write about, every Tony Yazbeck show.   Note how Jerry Korman styles a jazzed-up “My Favorite Things” for maximum tap action or how 54B tech designers Rebecca Morris and Amanda Raymond conspired with Tony to use salt on the stage to make more tactile a “Moonglow” softshoe.  And although full usage of the stage for the tapping requisite for “Put On A Happy Face” was naturally uplifting, there were bonafide (and quite surprising) thrills in a stationary tap number executed during “Just In Time” - a performance that brings new meaning to the phrase ‘chair dancing.’  Each subsequent number in the performance was arranged, orchestrated, and executed as a beat in a play, the connecting tissue of which was simple enough, and accessible enough: the relationship between an artist and an admirer - and which of us does not understand that relationship?

I would like to reserve a single paragraph of this review for a special happening from the night.  Tony Yazbeck frequently invites a friend to his playground, and why not?   What’s more rewarding than creating art with a playmate?  In the past, we have seen Tony invite close personal friends to his sandbox, but on this occasion he invited a close, personal friend of Jerry Korman’s - an emerging artist named Mae Roney, who sings and plays the violin (my husband called her a vocalinist).  Mr. Yazbeck tells the story of how Mr. Korman brought Ms. Roney to his attention and his immediate reaction was to put her in the show.  Together, the senior and junior members of the show business set performed the “Moonglow” number and the Hank Williams song “Cold Cold Heart” (which Bennett sang with KD Lang), and you could tell, by the energy change in the room, that all of the audience recognized they were witnessing something special.  Mae Roney will come to be known as one of the greats.  The quality of her vocal instrument and her interpretive skills are so unique as to be a tad unbelievable.  But believe it, friends.  This is a talent and a name that will be known by many, far and wide, and the visible support being bestowed by Tony Yazbeck was admirable, as was the open and honest way in which Roney accepted the support.  Their work together as fellow vocalists and as singer/dancer and violinist was not only beyond compare, it was as memorable as anything I’ve ever seen in a club.  Mae Roney.  Look for her.

And on the subject of interpretive skills, away from the taps and shuffles and the drawbacks, Tony Yazbeck is an exceptional interpreter of lyrics.  Standing on the stage, a small spotlight on his open and expressive face, the pictures he paints while stock-still and singing “Autumn Leaves” and “Some Other Time” and (this writer’s new favorite version of) “The Way You Look Tonight” are, alone, worth the ticket price - so when you consider the added bonus of the story arc, the woven-in contribution of dance, and the pure artistry of the whole show, what you have is a prime example of exactly how high off the charts the art form of cabaret can get when the intention is just right.  Intention.  It’s important.   It is also, fully, in Tony Yazbeck’s artistic makeup - that much is clearly true, and truly visible.

FInd other great shows on the 54 Below website HERE.

Visit the Tony Yazbeck website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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