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The Return of the Merm
May 31, 2001
By David Drake
Something both eerie and exciting happens
in the final moments of Klea Blackhurst’s show Everything
the Traffic Will Allow: the songs and sass of Ethel Merman.
Being a revue, naturally, it happens during a number. Standing
erect, her blue eyes fixed to the heavens, the performer sings
a little-known, yet thrillingly triumphant song by Jerry Herman
(written for Merman) that seems to capture both Blackhurst’s
sentiment of her idol as well as the essence of the lingering
spirit of America’s First Lady of the Musical Theatre.
Belting in those clear, hopeful Ethelesque tones, along with
The Merm’s patented tradition of big, loud, long-held
notes, Blackhurst releases her declaration, along with her
wish: "You wonderful woooooorld----take me baaaaaaack!"
Simultaneously, the lyric, the performer
and the subject collide, marking a sign of the times. For
in 2001 that’s exactly what Gotham is doing ---taking
Ethel Merman back.
On the legit theatre scene, the lady
has held a consistent, if somewhat shadowy presence in recent
seasons. On Broadway both Bernadette Peters and Reba McEntire
have revamped the box office (and the title character) in
Annie Get Your Gun, while Off-Broadway audiences continue
to cheer when they hear that distinctive, familiar vibrato
belt in the long-running musical parody Forbidden Broadway
(courtesy of the multi-talented comedienne Christine Pedi’s
Merman impersonation.) But this May it seems it’ll be
up to the cabaret scene to invigorate and reinstitute the
staying power of Ethel Merman.
"Everyone’s got an image of
Ethel," Blackhurst states early on in her act, that after
a sold-out run at Danny’s Skylight Room last March reopens
this month Upstairs at Jack Rose (47th & 8th Ave.) Addressing
the stodgy stereotyping and satirizing the woman has endured,
Blackhurst gently pushes those ideas aside to reevaluate the
singer through songs, anecdotes and a Cliff’s Note
history of Merman’s professional life that lend a renewed
power and context to her legend. (Remember: Cole Porter wrote
"You’re the Top," and Irving Berlin wrote "There’s
No Business Like Show Business," and Stephen Sondheim
an Jule Styne wrote "Everything’s Coming Up Roses,"
and the Gershwins wrote "I Got Rhythm" for Ethel
Merman!) Accompanied by Michael Rice’s terrific three-piece
combo, hearing Blackhurst deliver beautiful renditions of
those songs-----as inspired by the original source of each
songwriter----makes one’s appreciation and imagination
soar.
Copyright 2001 Playbill
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