Review: SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Delights Dutch Apple Audiences

SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ would be a jukebox musical if it had a book; it's more of a revue, a staged cabaret of the songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The names Leiber and Stoller may mean nothing to the young, but that is all the more reason for them to see SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ - it is a crucial part of American musical literacy, as well as an evening's trip down a very fun road. Rock, R&B, soul, pure Motown - none were beyond the reach of the duo's pens. The Coasters, Elvis, the Shangri-Las - those were some of the biggest names, but far from the only ones, who found success with the team's songs.

The show, a collection of roughly forty of Leiber and Stoller's works ranging from familiar ("Hound Dog," "Stand By Me") to obscure ("Neighborhood") is at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre right now, where a solid cast of acting and dancing singers takes the material and turns it into an on-stage party. Samantha Hewes Cramer, director and choreographer of the production, brings energy to the upbeat numbers and a more relaxed attitude to the slower ones, while injecting a healthy dose of humor. Although the show has no spoken dialogue and is essentially plotless, proper staging gives each song its own story line, such as "Dance With Me," which ranges from students not dancing with each other at a school dance, to a group dancing together, to a failed Sadie Hawkins effort.

Also nicely illustrated by the ensemble's work are such numbers as "Keep On Rollin'," "Kansas City," and the inevitable but delightful "Charlie Brown," which in the hands of John P. White's always excellent costuming even includes a twirler beanie. The Fifties and Sixties never looked so good.

There's some powerful singing in this production. While the entire ensemble is fine, particularly notable are Whitney Hayes, who also shows some prodigious comic skills, and Chris Flowers, who breathes serious life into "On Broadway" and "Stand By Me".

Considered as a Broadway show, it's not much, and the critics noted it. But at Dutch Apple it's the perfect show, harking back to the days - shades of the Fifties and Sixties, shades of MAD MEN - of the supper club, where one went to dinner and then saw a revue afterwards. The only things missing here are the coat check for your mink, and a scantily dressed cigarette girl with a tray of tobacco products and candies. The dinner and musical revue are right there, and JP Meyer's pit band, this time on stage but behind a screen, is smoking. Moments recall the staging of concerts by the Temptations and the Miracles, while other moments feel as if you're watching intimate scenes between two people; all suit an after-dinner entertainment mood, in tribute to the show's name.

Check your coat and hat. Find a table, pull up a chair, and imagine that the cigarette girl will be coming around just after the cocktails arrive. You're at SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ, and even if it's cold outside, the cast and band will make sure the music's hot.

Through Valentine's Day at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, followed by CLUE, the musical comedy mystery. For tickets and information, visit www.dutchapple.com.

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