Review: JOE CROYLE IN MONDAY MONDAY: A MUSICAL JOURNEY at The Revolution Stage Company

The Revolution Stage Company has put together a nice vocal series. Many of the top storytellers and vocalists have entertained there in the genre known as Cabaret. One show in particular was an attention-getter called “Monday Monday” starring Joe Croyle. Written by Joe Croyle and Michael Alden. Additional Material by Wayne Abravanel and Jan Heineger. Produced and Directed by Michael Alden.

According to the promo postcard, with a marvelous picture of Joe casually leaning, and a beautiful background-layer faded picture of the late great Mama Cass Elliot -- The subtitle states clearly, “The Music You Know. The Story You May Not”. This leads us to believe that this was the story of Joe and Cass – complete with multiple uses of her famous music catalog. The intrigue was in learning “the story” about “his meteoric rise and catastrophic fall WITH Mama Cass Elliott.” This was obviously an in-depth telling of their friendship and his major loss. The anticipation was high.

The set up for this journey started with Croyle seated at the piano singing a lovely rendition of “Try To Remember” from the Jones-Schmidt off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks.  Right off we can hear that Joe still has a quality voice. Stepping away from the piano to be replaced by his exceptional musical director/pianist, Wayne Abravanel,  Joe began chronicling his earlier days.

Starting in high school band where he was not going to play an instrument, he was going to be lead twirler complete with baton at the front of the marching band.  Home movie footage of him dressed in his uniform was a nice touch to transport the audience back in time.  Singing “Brass Band” from the musical Sweet Charity.

Joe has a beautiful singing voice. Some crooners continue to grace the stage long after they should, but here is a man who was gifted with a set of pipes that have lasted. Unfortunately, Joe seemed unrehearsed when retelling many of his personal stories. He was tethered to his music stand for dialogue patter. Several times he lost his place and – because he is an old pro – improvised a few hilarious adlibs directly to the audience.

Another of his stories explains that while looking through a Hollywood showbiz trade magazine he found they were holding auditions for the wholesome singing group The Young Americans. He courageously made his way to the auditions without telling his parents. While there they asked what special skills he had...?  He proudly stated, “I twirl”. When asked if he brought his baton, he answered, “No..." (I'll stop here because what happens next is a great moment of comedy.)

Joe appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and was interviewed by Ed,  But, the piece de resistance, was Joe doing a spot-on imitation of Ed Sullivan to recreate the interview.

During the TV performance, young Joe showed off his twirling prowess in a group dance number. While recounting his many appearances with the Young Americans on the Ed Sullivan Show he sings in great detail about the famous names and faces who guest starred on the popular Sunday night program with the clever “Movie Star Song”.  The PowerPoint presentation of all the celebrities was another attention-to-detail issue with the “Getty watermarks” covering some of the famous faces displayed on the screen.

Even though it was almost three-quarters of the way into the act there wasn’t a single hint of a Mama Cass Elliott to be seen, or any of her beloved songs to be heard.  I know all of this was just a beautiful lead into that friendship and bonding we were all anticipating.  The time came.

We’re told that Joe was booked to work with Mama Cass. According to his very brief glossed-over timeline regarding this important moment in his life -- they rehearsed for 6 weeks. She liked him. During the production run Cass told him something that would change his life and career forever. A hopeful Joe sings a heartfelt, “Only One Life” and all of his dreams will finally come true. 

I will stop revealing anymore because it would be a terrible spoiler.  Croyle sings “Dream A Little Dream of Me” and we thought this was the end.

Then, awkwardly, with a shrug he mentions that he immediately moved on to work with Ann-Margaret.  Again, showing his comedic ability he sang the witty “It’s Tough To Be A Dancer In The Ann-Margret Act”

Then he worked with Sally Struthers.

And, later, with Peter Marshall.

(Side note: When I was 14 years old Knott’s Berry Farm used to have big-name celebrities performing in their large indoor theatre. I saw the Peter Marshall Show and Joe Croyle was one of the young entertainers sharing the stage. To this day, I remember how good the supporting cast was. During that show Joe did his spot-on imitation of Ed Sullivan – I wonder if that is where he perfected it?)

Joe explained that during the Ann-Margaret show, he met Maryann and began talking about her.  The two people sitting to my right turned and asked, “Who is Maryann?”.  The answer was whispered back, “His Wife”. The script for his act catered greatly to people who already knew him; family and friends.

After making his production acknowledgements and thanking people at the venue he concluded with an encore of “Make Your Own Kind Of Music”.  Giving us the third ending and finally a standing ovation.

It’s a GOOD show because the man himself is vocally outstanding and charming as hell. It’s not a GREAT show because Joe was tethered to a cheat sheet, it doesn't live up to its full potential, and glosses over far too quickly what was promised for “the music AND the story”.  Many walked away knowing more about Joe Croyle, but investing nothing more into his relationship with Cass Elliott.  After doing my own research I discovered that Cass Elliott died on MONDAY, July 29, 1974  -- a perfect tie-in for the title. But, during the show, Joe said she died on a Sunday, and then sang, “Monday Monday”.  Was that a cheat sheet mistake? The patter was a bit confusing due to him being so committed to his notes, and the title of the show was solely based on a very, very, small portion of “the story”. Croyle proves himself an extremely capable entertainer and deserves a much more cohesive story to tell.

Joe Croyle is already booked to bring his singing talent back to the Revolution Stage Company to reprise this production on Monday, February 26, 2024, at 7 PM. Located in: Sun Center.  611 S Palm Canyon Dr.  Suite 16, Palm Springs, CA 92264

For more information: (760) 318-4115   https://www.revolutionstagecompany.com

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