A Tribute to Johnny Mercer--live performance of the Chicago Humanities Festival

Full disclosure, I used to work for the Chicago Humanities Festival. That said their programs can be stodgy, overly academic, and humorless. Those problems were on display in the festival's cabaret presentation last night--A Tribute to Johnny Mercer.

I didn't know much about Johnny Mercer, and the only song title I could name before walking in the door to this performance was Autumn Leaves. I still don't know much about the man, although I do realize that he had a hand in many more songs that I knew--Come Rain or Come Shine, Fools Rush In, Jeepers Creepers, Hooray for Hollywood, Satin Doll.

All of these songs and thirty others were presented in whole or part by five performers--singers Klea Blackhurst and Stephanie Morse, and pianist/singers Billy Stritch, Steve Ross and Charles Cochran. The song selections and connective narration were done by Barry Day--co-author of The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer. Mr. Day was the host of the evening as well.

Okay, 36 songs sounds like a lot--and it was--but not from a length standpoint. The songs were short enough and narration between brief enough that the one-act performance didn't feel too long. However, hearing Mercer's songs back-to-back-to-back-to--you get the point--you realize that his compositional style didn't vary a whole lot. Most of the songs sounded exactly alike; Mr. Mercer wrote songs for crooners, and I would have loved some more up-tempo selections or arrangements to break up the monotony.

There were other issues I had with the performance, but let's just leave it at that.

A Tribute to Johnny Mercer
Created and directed (?) by Barry Day
With performers Klea Blackhurst, Steve Ross, Billy Stritch, Charles Cochran, Stephanie Morse
This one a one-night only event.

Li'l Abner film on DVD

This is a great show for the chorus. They are included in all the best musical numbers and there are lots of bit parts for chorus members to step into. But Li'l Abner drags a bit when it just focuses on the primary characters.

Perhaps it's the nearly fifty years since this show was created, but a lot of the characterizations come off as poking fun rather than lovingly bringing to life charming comic strip characters. Particularly guilty of overshooting the mark are Mammy and Pappy Yokum, but the book writer also bear some responsibility for peppering too many "dogpatch-isms" into characters' speech.

A couple of songs deserve mention and perhaps cabaret or big band life beyond the show, especially since the lyrics are by Johnny Mercer. "The Country's in the Very Best of Hands" is a funny (and still topical) song for Abner and Marryin' Sam. It would be great paired with Kurt Weill's "How Can you Tell an American" which is also a duet for two men. "I wish it could be Otherwise" (which I think was written for the film) is a wonder ballad for Daisy Mae and Abner, and could easily be imported into piano club setting.

The bright spot of the cast for me is Stubby Kaye as Marryin' Sam. There is no one who can deliver the big solo with chorus number like him. "Jubilation T. Cornpone" is the best known of this score, but there are other songs for Sam and Chorus. Julie Newmar (later of Batman fame) is Stupifyin' Jones, with nary a line, but plenty of curves.

Li'l Abner
Music by Gene de Paul
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Written by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Based on the character created by Al Capp
Released by Paramount Pictures in 1959
Cast: Peter Palmer, Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye, Howard St. John, Julie Newmar, Stella Stevens, Billie Hayes, Joe E. Marks, Bern Hoffman