{"id":19720,"date":"2015-07-10T13:28:08","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T20:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=19720"},"modified":"2015-07-10T13:28:52","modified_gmt":"2015-07-10T20:28:52","slug":"san-francisco-tribute-to-broadway-singer-ethel-merman-lacks-pizazz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/san-francisco-tribute-to-broadway-singer-ethel-merman-lacks-pizazz\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco tribute to Broadway singer Ethel Merman lacks pizazz"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Woody’s [rating: 1.5]<\/span><\/p>\n

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Denise Wharmby plays singer Ethel Merman, backed by Martin Grimwood (left) and Don Bridges, in \u201cCall Me Miss Birds Eye.\u201d Photo by Kevin Berne.<\/p>\n

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The original Ethel Merman.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Ethel Merman died in 1984 at age 76 \u2014 after giving more than 6,000 Broadway performances.<\/p>\n

So the mezzo-soprano\u2019s been lifeless quite a while.<\/p>\n

Sadly, I found \u201cCall Me Miss Birds Eye,\u201d a new revue at A.C.T.\u2019s Geary Theatre in San Francisco that\u2019s a tribute to her career, equally lifeless.<\/p>\n

It lacks all the brassiness, bravado and sheer energy the big-voiced, big-haired Merman brought to audiences.<\/p>\n

Denise Wharmby \u2014 as The First Lady of the musical comedy stage \u2014 and her two backup singers, Martin Greenwood and Don Bridges, hit every note correctly.<\/p>\n

With more than a hint of their native Australian accents.<\/span><\/p>\n

But without pizazz.<\/p>\n

Except when Wharmby, a San Rafael transplant from Tasmania, impressively holds notes for as long as the long-winded Merman might have.<\/p>\n

Critics heralded that Queens, N.Y.-born superstar \u2014 who supposedly never took a singing lesson \u2014 for her precise enunciation and pitch.<\/p>\n

Wharmby imitates both well.<\/p>\n

Yet fails to capture Merman\u2019s spellbinding over-the-topness.<\/p>\n

Impressive, on the other hand, is that the revue is done entirely in Bel Canto style \u2014 that is, without a mic or amplifiers, the same acoustical Italian vocal technique Merman utilized for five decades.<\/p>\n

It works, not counting when the guys muffle their voices by facing the wings instead of the audience.<\/p>\n

The beauty part of \u201cCall Me Miss Birds Eye,\u201d though, is the songlist itself, with the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of American Songbook composers represented.<\/p>\n

Socko tunes include Irving Berlin\u2019s \u201cThere\u2019s No Business Like Show Business,\u201d Merman\u2019s theme; George and Ira Gershwin\u2019s \u201cI Got Rhythm,\u201d from \u201cGirl Crazy,\u201d the thrush\u2019s first Broadway outing; and Julie Styne and Stephen Sondheim\u2019s \u201cEverything\u2019s Coming Up Roses\u201d from \u201cGypsy.\u201d<\/p>\n

And although more than a third of the 33 songs contain astonishingly clever lyrics by Cole Porter, I\u2019d still say the most amusing piece is \u201cNew Fangled Tango,\u201d in which the Mutt and Jeff duo use their size difference for comedic effect.<\/p>\n

Wharmby\u2019s frequent gown changing can also be entertaining.<\/p>\n

Despite my sense that the men occasionally tread vocal water just to give her time to switch costumes.<\/p>\n

The 95-minute show would definitely improve via still or video projections, extra props, and choreography not limited to hands.<\/p>\n

Instead of merely relying on the changing colors of a huge backdrop caricature of Merman.<\/p>\n

Having previews, moreover, might have eliminated missed cues, vocal timing that was off, and an embarrassing moment when an exiting Wharmby almost knocked Bridges over.<\/p>\n

Adding continuity would be advisable, too, since details presented about Merman\u2019s life are skimpy \u2014 there\u2019s not one allusion to her penchant for telling vulgar stories and dirty jokes in public, and only a quickie reference to four marriages that \u201cwilted as quickly as the wedding bouquets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s title, a play on the words of a Merman hit, \u201cCall Me Madam,\u201d refers to the star rejecting a change Berlin wanted to make within a week of opening.<\/p>\n

She unnerved him with, \u201cCall me Miss Birds Eye. It\u2019s frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merman, who loathed anyone sharing her spotlight, would have loved the idea that when she died every Broadway house dimmed its lights upon hearing the news.<\/p>\n

And she\u2019d have loved that 30 years later her fame hasn\u2019t dimmed.<\/p>\n

The musical director of \u201cCall Me,\u201d Graham Clarke, doubles as artistic director of Acoustic Voice of Australia, which produced and is presenting the revue. He firmly believes this pre-Broadway outing is a choice vehicle for those who want to immerse themselves in Merman songs and nostalgia.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s wishful thinking, I suspect.<\/p>\n

Opening night, many patrons were checking watches with regularity \u2014 and about a quarter of the crowd left at intermission.<\/p>\n

Clearly an audience that reviews a show with its feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cCall Me Miss Birds Eye\u201d plays at the American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco, through July 19. Night performances, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Matinees, 2 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets: $20 to $65. Information: (415) 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contact Woody Weingarten at www.vitalitypress.com\/<\/a> or voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Woody’s [rating: 1.5] Ethel Merman died in 1984 at age 76 \u2014 after giving more than 6,000 Broadway performances. So the mezzo-soprano\u2019s been lifeless quite a while. Sadly, I found…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"