Review: HERE'S TO THE LADIES at Desert Ensemble Theatre

Once again, Desert Ensemble Theatre has kicked off its new season with an Opening Gala, and once again, it was an unabated delight! I found myself smiling broadly throughout the 75-minute revue, and those around me were tapping toes, clapping, hooting, and occasionally singing along.

The three-person revue was the brainchild of the company's Communications Director, Jerome Elliott, who wrote, directed, and even hosted the evening. He certainly knows his business. The songs and stage business flew quickly and smoothly from funny to serious, nostalgic to pop, and the selection of Keisha D, Charles Herrera, and Theresa Jewett as the performers was sublime. Each brought a strong individual identity, and Elliott functioned as a master chef to bring just the right amount of each artist to craft a delectable meal. The evening was smoothly held together by Musical Director Charlie Creasy at the keyboard, who effortlessly moved from opera to musical theatre to pop.

Keisha D, a gorgeous amalgamation of sass and style, makes every song feel like it was written for her. My favorites were "I Got Love" from the 60's musical Purlie, and the bluesy scat she added to "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Charles Herrera delivered the humor that we have grown to love in his performances, but then kicks some serious butt with Lloyd Webber's "Till I Hear You Sing." I especially enjoyed "Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage" from The Boy From Oz. One of the funniest moments of the evening was when one of the ladies kissed him at the end of a duet, and he stayed onstage to sing Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl (and I Liked It)." Theresa Jewett is the I-Can-Do-Everything gal. Her comedic talents on "Little Girls" from Annie deserved to have a whole production built around it, and she finishes the evening with Bernstein's "Glitter and Be Gay," mashing together broadly humorous movements with seriously operatic chops on the vocals, even finishing the number several notes higher than Chenowith ever attempted!

The director made a decision to only hand out song lists as the audience was exiting so that people wouldn't be rustling through their programs during the performance. I understand that, and certainly the people in my row were following many songs with, "What's that from?" However, the opening bracket of songs with all three performers is braceted on the song list as "A Memo to Harvey W.," and includes "Two Ladies," "Respect," "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "Lay Lady Lay," "How Lovely to Be a Woman," and several other anthems to the ladies (though I realized later that he did mention that bracket title in the program). If I could change one element of the performance, it would be to bring the three artists back together for a closing number or medley because their combination was synergistic.

This year, the Gala was held over two nights because the audiences increased significantly over each of the previous three years, and the director announced from the stage that this year's ticket sales had comfortably covered the company's scholarships, and supplied much-needed funds to the upcoming season.

Details about Desert Ensemble's 2017/2018 season are available at their website, http://www.detctheatre.org

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