Review: BRENT BARRETT & BERNIE BLANKS: ISLAND IN THE STREAM at CVRep

Another highly anticipated evening of Cabaret with a sold-out crowd at Coachella Valley Repertory to see the handsome and talented husband duo Brent Barrett and Bernie Blanks.  When the three-piece combo begins to play the men grace the stage wearing stylish white and silver tailor-fitted suits singing the 1965 Sonny & Cher, Gold record hit “I Got You Babe”.  The couple have vastly different styles of singing quality and no comfortable blend. One time through of “babe” then a fun underscoring as the couple stop to begin their patter. Explaining that the evening is a tribute to the glorious days of the Variety Show:  The Sonny & Cher Show, The Donny & Marie Osmond Show, The Carol Burnett Show, and the forgettable Shields & Yarnell show.  Exclaiming, “Two white boys singing very white music!” And, that these musical TV variety shows were their inspiration for getting into the entertainment business.

This started out to be the promise of a kitschy, campy, and uniquely wild evening of Variety Show-style programming. Wonderful ballads, novelty comedy songs, pop-hits of the ’60s & ’70s, and closing theme songs: “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together”. “May Tomorrow Be A Perfect Day”, “Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen”, and others.  Now, that would have been fun! The duo begins to sing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.  No blend or tight harmony throughout.

The gents praise and celebrate Bob Mackie with projections of his iconic fashion designs. Sharing that they tried to get some inexpensive Mackie for this show, but they had to turn to a cheaper designer - AMAZON.  They then modeled their gorgeous stark white suits and revealed that they were wearing the suits they got married in. They playfully quip, “Who says you can only wear your bridal gown once?”

They introduce the title of the show: Welcome To "Islands In The Stream!”.  What?!!?  From that moment forward the Variety Show promise ended and it shifted into a cabaret relationship love story. How they met. How they fell in love. Each other's personality traits.  A divided career in Germany.  The marriage proposal and the pooch!

The patter for this show was exceptional. Endearing and playful. I learned a great deal about the dynamic duo – and some of it was extremely intimate. Oh, those boys.  They both looked devilishly handsome in their tight-fitting and extremely flattering wardrobe.

Brent Barrett has a rich, gorgeous, almost operatic, tenor singing voice. When he stepped forward into the solo spotlight to sing in the style he excelled at - like legit Ballads and pure Broadway - he was pure magic. His credits are extensive and well-deserved.

Bernie Blanks is the self-proclaimed shallow, self-absorbed, egocentric of the two. His pleasant voice leans more towards the Pop-Country sound. As his mother pointed out when he sang for a family occasion she asked, “What was the name of that country song you sang?”  “That wasn’t a country song! That was ‘Ava Maria’”.  Blanks sang the only comedy number in the show, “Popular” from the 2003 Broadway musical, Wicked.  He was adorable, sang it quite lovely, but threw away all the jokes.

One outstanding moment in the show that was pitch-perfect, and harmony blended was a beautiful song that Blanks wrote called “Old Stone Temple”. Absolute perfection; more like that, please!

They stopped the momentum of the show for a 15-minute intermission so that they could return to show off a costume change. There was also a callback joke about Barrett’s terrible fashion sense... which got a sizable laugh.

The second act started with the show’s title “Islands In The Stream”.  Again, no blend and they had timing issues as they ended their final notes separately. That was a problem with several of their duets. The remainder of the show was ballad, after ballad, after ballad, after ballad, after ballad... after ballad.  Concluding with a reprise of “Islands In the Stream” for their curtain call.

Blanks gave a little speech afterward thanking the audience for coming and being the guinea pigs for this new work in progress.  Barrett and Blanks are very talented, but this showcase was off-balance.  Some pop music that doesn’t complement one or the other’s vocal styles.  There are two shows here... Either stick with the promised campy Variety Show concept or make this a pretty love story Valentine for your relationship. Or possibly consider getting yourself a good director for a third-eye view to smooth out what works and what doesn’t.

The combo of live musicians was superb. Music director, the impressive Chris Lash on piano. Day Lewis on Drums. Emiliano Villarreal on Bass.  

  Grand performances, great music, and personality plus make the COACHELLA VALLEY REPERTORY 2024 SUMMER CABARET SERIES among the very best ways to enjoy Downtown Cathedral City. CVRep has scheduled 17 memorable evenings of award-winning talent, vivacious personalities, music and song, levity, and stories that are just waiting to be shared. This year’s Summer Cabaret Series continues to run through July 25, and has been expanded to include two shows every week!

Showtime is at 7PM. Tickets are $50 and on sale now. They may be ordered online at www.cvrep.org, by calling (760) 296-2966, ext. 201, or at the CVRep box office located at 68510 East Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City. Special custom ticket packages are available. The box office is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and one hour prior to performances. In order to better serve audiences, patrons requesting accessibility assistance are encouraged to contact the box office at least 24 hours prior to their ticketed performance. Artists, show titles and dates are subject to change.

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