BWW Reviews: WE3KINGS Rings In New Year at the El Portal

We 3 Kings/by Jay Irwin, Ron Kurtz & Pegge Forrest/directed by Jay Irwin/Eric Martin, director of Moonwalker segment/El Portal Mainstage, NoHo/through Wednesday, December 31, New Year's Eve only

Akin to a Las Vegas show, We 3 Kings works dynamically as a showcase for its 3 artists: Luca Ellis, Shawn Klush and Brandon Michael Jones, especially for Jones, currently considered the premiere tribute artist of Michael Jackson. Now onstage at the El Portal in NoHo through New Year's Eve, it's enjoyable fare for those of us who grew up with and lived through the music of all three. Frank Sinatra (Luca Ellis) was the King of Swing of the 40s on up, Elvis Presley (Shawn Klush) the King of Rock and Roll in the 50s and Michael Jackson (Jones, pictured above) the King of Pop commencing in the 60s as the tiniest member of The Jackson 5 (Jacquez Shanigan).

Creators Jay Irwin, Ron Kurtz and Pegge Forrest try to put the three solo acts into a cultural context by presenting a pop culture musical slide show up front. This would work better if it were divided into three parts, one introducing each artist segment - for the 40s, the 50s ,and one for the 60s and 70s. With the very recognizable TV theme songs from Leave It To Beaver and The Mary Tyler Moore Show scrunched together, it tries to cover too much time too quickly, so only partly works as an enticement for the acts that follow.

First up: Luca Ellis! Ellis is a low-key, laid-back kind of guy with the vocal stylings and minimal body mannerisms of the Chairman of the Board, and if you close your eyes, you would swear it were the icon singing. It's a short set for Ellis - six songs - but a good one, including: "Come Back To Me", "Route 66", "The Way You Look Tonight" and as a finale everyone's favorite, "New York, New York". Ellis sets the stage for the other acts. He even states, "Why do I open? Because, I was here first." Indeed, Sinatra began in the 40s, and with magnetic staying power kept his act going strong all the way into the 90s when he died. Quite the entertainer and a tough act to follow, Mr. Sinatra!

When Elvis came onto the scene in 1956 his style was radically different from Sinatra's. Our country had succumbed to the throes of rock and roll, and Elvis created a very big and bold, outrageously sexy charisma that grabbed teenage girls and made them scream for more and more of his suggestive, gyrating body moves. He and Sinatra were at opposite poles, but both still valuable to our country's musical history and ...to divergent female tastes. Shawn Klush has been doing Elvis successfully onstage for a few years now. At first glance in his bejeweled white suit, he fits the physical mold of the latter-day 70s Elvis, as opposed to the leaner 50s Elvis in his prime. But, when he opens his mouth and sings, it is definitely the Elvis and all he has to do is turn his head in profile...he is clearly the King of Rock. Klush performs "C C Rider", "Teddy Bear", "Don't Be Cruel", "Kentucky Rain", "Suspicious Minds" and "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You", as well as a couple of early, lesser-known tunes. Women come up to the edge of the stage and Klush as Elvis takes the soaking-wet scarf from around his neck and gives it lovingly to each. He repeats this tradition with at least a half dozen white, blue and red scarves, to the delight of the female fans. It's a fun set to watch!

The intermission comes after Klush's 35 minute set. Brandon Michael Jones opens the second act, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, which, within fifty-minutes, covers most of his career from The Jackson 5 - "ABC", "I'll Be There" - on up through "Beat It", "Thriller" and "Billy Jean". Jasckson was even wilder than Elvis. If Elvis caused sensations in the audience with his gyrations, Jackson created thrills by never standing still. He was in constant motion from the moment he hit the spotlight. Sinatra - Elvis - Michael Jackson/ tame - wild - wilder!

Jones is a fabulous dancer/singer/performer, who not only looks like Michael, but conveys his total uniqueness, especially creative dance moves... to the letter. What I have always admired about Michael Jackson was that peculiar brand of originality that was nonstop. You never knew what was coming next, and each musical number was like a three-act play...so dynamically theatrical and exciting. Well, Jones brings all of the excitement to the fore, as does the incredibly talented Shanigan as the young Jackson. Culturally, Jackson was not the sexy heartbreaker type that Sinatra and Presley had been - yes, he appealed to teens and to show biz lovers of the bizarre and the extraordinary and set different standards of magnetic appeal.

Overall, We 3 Kings is a great entertainment for the holidays. More work is needed with the slide show presentation to create a better flow between segments and to lend the production more cultural authenticity to illustrate how changes in pace and style from decade to decade were reflected in the music. But, the three sets of music, particularly Moonwalker ... simply rock!

terrific musicians for the three sets:

for Luca: Kevin Sue Fukagawa on piano; Nicholas Lingenberg, Granville Young, Susan Quam on bass; Steve Pemberton on drums

for Brandon and Shawn: Rohn Simpson on bass/vocals - musical director; Ashton Burris on drums; K.C. Allen on keys; Charles Hamilton on guitar; and backup vocals: Charlie Charles and Candice Chavez

Klush has 3 wonderful CDs on sale in the lobby: From the Heart, and For the Heart, both containing Elvis music and a third of gospel music

(post show photo credit: Gary Warmee)

http://www.elportaltheatre.com/

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