By Dale King
Guys in tuxes and glittery vests. Gals with long evening gowns strewn with sparkles. All this, set against a stark, black-and-white Art Deco stage setting.
Sophisticated Ladies, a 32-year-old revue of the tunes, dress and dance steps most associated with Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, is the latest offering at Broward Stage Door Theatre, and it brings us back to the lively jazz-and-jive scene of the Cotton Club era in hugely entertaining fashion.
Donald McKayle conceived the revue of Ellington’s tunes, which opened on Broadway in 1981 and ran for nearly 800 performances, aided by its star turn from tap wizard Gregory Hines. At Broward Stage, Dan Kelley does double duty as director and musical-staging artist. He uses velvet gloves to make sure the action is smooth, and his 11 performers respond with elegance.
Sophisticated Ladies is driven by three dozen Ellington numbers, and the tune-by-tune metamorphosis takes place almost seamlessly. One minor setback: The music is a pre-recorded track that has a tendency to sound tinny, though sometimes the actors overcome the flaw with terrific stage presence. A live orchestra, or maybe a smaller ensemble – one heavy on saxophone, clarinet and banjo – would have brought the show closer to perfection.
The women in the cast include talent-laden Tennessee native Courtney Blackmun, Oregon-born Karma Jenkins, Brooke Martino and Shenise Nunez — in their Broward Stage debuts — svelte and strong-voiced Ziarra Washington and torch-song specialist Stevanie Anita Williams.
Adding touches of humor with elegance are the guys, including familiar Broward Stage performer Marcus Davis, the returning Clint Hromsco, an excellent Walter Kemp II – a singer and a choreographer – Gregory Omar Osborne and Christopher George Patterson, who, whenever onstage, looks so darn happy to be there. Everyone seems equally adept at delivering the goods.
Washington is the first performer the audience sees, presenting an exciting version of It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing, with Davis, Hromsco, Kemp and Osborne closing in with airborne tap shoes. The long, lean “lady” returns with Patterson for a stellar rendition of Take the “A” Train.
The well-disciplined troupe dazzles the audience all along the way, with a combo of Love You Madly / Perdito, featuring Nunez, Davis and Kemp, that induces smiles. Martino and Hromsco bring craziness to Bli-Blip, a song filled with nonsense lyrics that really seem to make sense. Ko-Ko, a tune with sort of an ’80s sound, brings fun guy Patterson back to the stage along with Davis, Hromsco, Kemp and Osborne in strong supporting roles.
It’s clear early on Ellington’s work directed fine-music lovers to Harlem. That’s where the “A” train was heading. The five male singer-dancers score big with Drop Me Off in Harlem. And there’s a really sexy skit with Osborne in the hot seat and seductresses Blackmun, Jenkins, Martino, Nunez and Williams and all vying for his affections. The tune is called Echoes of Harlem.
Williams is back after an extremely quick change — seeming unfazed — and offering a strong, torchy rendition of Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life, which contains the dismal fear she will “rot with the rest of those whose lives are lonely, too.”
With Osborne in the front spot, dancers Blackmun, Jenkins and Nunez, along with Hromsco, Davis and Kemp, turn Caravan into a spectacle of precision tapping. Looking fiery in a hot red dress, Martino combines vocal exuberance with high kicks in Hit Me with a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce. Patterson and Washington are excellent in the two-tune duet, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore / I Let a Song Go out of My Heart.
A jolly Patterson owns the show’s funniest song. For I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So, he morphs into a cab driver. He comes out sitting on a large block of something being pushed by the other men wearing Checker cab outfits — yellow moon suits with checkerboard-patterned cuffs. He proceeds to trade giddy notes with his vehicle of transportation.
Costumer Peter Lovello deserves extra credit for designing the colorful wardrobes that change from song to song. Plaudits also are in order for tailor Carman Guzman, whose fingers must have been flying to produce garb that stuns with the flash of a bygone era.
Choreographer Chrissi Ardito conjures up some magical steps, as the tap dancing is top-notch, and the high kicks, swirls, spins and other moves are certain crowd-pleasers.
With fun and funny tunes, heart-wrenching ballads and all-over-the-place jazz songs, the cast gives back about one million times the cost of a ticket. It’s a show that shouldn’t be missed.
Sophisticated Ladies is playing through Nov. 24 at the Broward Stage Door Theatre, 8036 W. Sample Road, in Coral Springs. Tickets are available by calling (954) 344-7766 or visiting www.stagedoorfl.org.