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Autumn in New York:
Vernon Duke's Broadway
CD Review
By Ken Mandelbaum
Broadway.com
KLEA BLACKHURST:
AUTUMN IN NEW YORK-VERNON DUKE'S BROADWAY (Ghostlight)
Singer Klea Blackhurst has built a reputation on the basis
of two well-received cabaret acts, a 2001 salute to Ethel
Merman entitled Everything the Traffic Will Allow, and
Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke's Broadway, a salute
to the gifted but flop-prone theatrical composer. I've not
heard the CD of the Merman show, but, on the basis of Ghostlight's
new CD of the Duke show, I'd like to.
Duke's biggest theatrical success was Cabin in the Sky. But
there were far more shows like The Lady Comes Across,
Dancing in the Streets, Two's Company, Zenda, The Pink Jungle,
and Sadie Thompson.
Blackhurst, who has appeared off-Broadway in Oil City
Symphony and Radio Gals, is equally at home
in upbeat ("Not a Care in the World," "I Like
the Likes of You," "Poor as a Churchmouse,"
"Taking a Chance on Love") and mellow ("I Can't
Get Started," "Autumn in New York," "Sailing
at Midnight") moods. And she performs several rarities,
like "Indefinable Charm" and the title song from
Dancing in the Streets (the road-closer that Mary
Martin turned down Oklahoma! to do) and "You
Took Me By Surprise" from the equally disastrous The
Lady Comes Across.
The lyrics are by such top-notch folk as Howard Dietz, John
Latouche, E.Y. Harburg, and Ira Gershwin. For her encore on
the disc, there's one non-Duke song, the Gershwins' "Swanee,"
a song that, as explained in Blackhurst's liner notes, had
major impact on Duke.
Michael Rice is the fine arranger, orchestrator and conductor,
with Blackhurst accompanied by eight musicians. This is a
studio recoring, so it does not include any of the informative
patter which reflects Blackhurst's thorough research into
her subjects.
Blackhurst has a very distinctive sound that may not be to
all tastes, but it gives her singing considerable personality
and zest. She's also blessed with excellent pitch and diction.
I was happy to make her acquaintance, and look forward to
hearing her live.
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