A Sigh is still a Cy

Cy Coleman – it’s not a name on the tip of our tongues, though this month has been a good one for him, with his brilliant Tony Award winning hit City of Angels playing at Melbourne’s Arts Centre, and now a fabulous tribute show with some of our brightest musical theatre stars opening this weekend at Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club.

A Jazz club for a Broadway composer might seem anachronistic, but the truth is (as any jazz lovers will know) The Cy Coleman Trio was revered by musicians everywhere long before Cy (or, more correctly, Seymour Kaufmann) ever set foot in a Broadway theatre. He was a fantastic jazz pianist and I still love listening to the trio’s recordings, mostly from the 1950’s.

Even so, that is still phase two of Coleman’s remarkable career. He was a child prodigy concert pianist between the ages of 6 and 9 – and who knows what the results might have been if he had decided to pursue classical composition during his musical studies. Instead he gave us memorable hits like “Witchcraft” (for Frank Sinatra) and my personal favourite “The Best Is Yet To Come” (Tony Bennett) both with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. Even so, it’s probably incorrect to call him a songwriter or even talk about the Songs of Cy Coleman. Like the Great Harold Arlen (who is always credited with writing Somewhere Over The Rainbow) Coleman was a composer, not a lyricist – so technically he only wrote the melodies. Each and every one is a great tune….but without the lyrics, and voices to sing it, it’s not a song.

Once Coleman found lyricists he wanted to work with, it was just a short hop to Broadway. He composed the music for Lucille Ball’s Broadway debut in Wildcat, which produced the hit “Hey, Look Me Over”. Then came Little Me – a show well worth reviving – and hits with “Real Live Girl” and “I’ve Got Your Number”…both not standards. If you’re still none the wiser about Coleman’s work, let me just enlighten you with two words. SWEET CHARITY. It had lyrics by the great Dorothy Fields, but it’s Coleman’s fresh and slightly burlesque music that we remember. Of course he didn’t stop there. Barnum; On the Twentieth Century; I Love My Wife; and The Will Rogers Follies. Add to these his stand alone songs; his scores for movies and television specials; and you have a consummate musician for whom playing and composing was his life.

Local production company Flourish is committed to furthering the careers of those great performers who should always be playing leads but too often end up in the ensemble. Producer Catherine Langley is a Cy Coleman fans – “his way with melody is just amazing” and she’s gathered a rich cast under the directorship of Scott Hendry for this short tribute run. There’s the indefatigable Stephen Wheat, who is also a talented Director; Meg Hoult, Henry Brett, Holly James and two of my favourite musical theatre performers of the decade Luigi Lucente and Nicole Molloy. Those who saw Luigi in Pippin, or as Leo Frank in Parade, or channelling Jim Morrison in Kaleidoscope  (he’s a gifted pianist as well) will be bemused, like me, that an artist with so much talent is not a superstar…but it’s just the nature of the business here in Australia. Nicole is a true triple threat, seen last month in Company and last year in Loving Repeating. She really does do it all…. I’ve even seen her in straight plays.

Like most of our performers they’ve worked together before and admire each others’ work. In fact it’s a bit of a love fest between the whole cast under the musical direction of Lucy O’Brien. It’s not a flash production….just six superb voices interpreting equally superb music.

“The rehearsal time is quite short, so it helps that we know each others’ work, even if we haven’t been in a show together before,” Nicole tells me.

“And it’s an added advantage if you can read music,” Luigi says. “In future I think everyone in a show is going to need to be able to do that, especially as music gets more complex and rehearsal times get shorter. We have some ensemble numbers with close harmonies, and it’s a bonus to be able to read where to pitch the harmony.”

So are they both Cy Coleman fans? “We all are,” Nicole enthuses. “What’s not to love?”

“I think it’s that jazz sensibility that speaks to people, though his music for On the Twentieth Century is far more classically influenced. That’s the beauty of longevity – you can musically cross so many styles, especially when you start as a child.”

Everyone has a favourite Cy Coleman song: for Nicole it’s ‘Big Spender’ from Sweet Charity. “I know it’s not a meaningful ballad but I adore it. It’s a wonderfully raunchy ballsy song and so much fun to perform.” Luigi stayed with the same show. “I’d have to say ‘Too Many Tomorrows’…it’s a quintessential show ballad and I love it.”

As for me, The Best is Yet to Come at The Basement, this Sunday and Monday (Nov 22 & 23, 2015). See you there.Cy Coleman – it’s not a name on the tip of our tongues, though this month has been a good one for him, with his brilliant Tony Award winning hit City of Angels playing at Melbourne’s Arts Centre, and now a fabulous tribute show with some of our brightest musical theatre stars opening this weekend at Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club.

A Jazz club for a Broadway composer might seem anachronistic, but the truth is (as any jazz lovers will know) The Cy Coleman Trio was revered by musicians everywhere long before Cy (or, more correctly, Seymour Kaufmann) ever set foot in a Broadway theatre. He was a fantastic jazz pianist and I still love listening to the trio’s recordings, mostly from the 1950’s.

Even so, that is still phase two of Coleman’s remarkable career. He was a child prodigy concert pianist between the ages of 6 and 9 – and who knows what the results might have been if he had decided to pursue classical composition during his musical studies. Instead he gave us memorable hits like “Witchcraft” (for Frank Sinatra) and my personal favourite “The Best Is Yet To Come” (Tony Bennett) both with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. Even so, it’s probably incorrect to call him a songwriter or even talk about the Songs of Cy Coleman. Like the Great Harold Arlen (who is always credited with writing Somewhere Over The Rainbow) Coleman was a composer, not a lyricist – so technically he only wrote the melodies. Each and every one is a great tune….but without the lyrics, and voices to sing it, it’s not a song.

Once Coleman found lyricists he wanted to work with, it was just a short hop to Broadway. He composed the music for Lucille Ball’s Broadway debut in Wildcat, which produced the hit “Hey, Look Me Over”. Then came Little Me – a show well worth reviving – and hits with “Real Live Girl” and “I’ve Got Your Number”…both not standards. If you’re still none the wiser about Coleman’s work, let me just enlighten you with two words. SWEET CHARITY. It had lyrics by the great Dorothy Fields, but it’s Coleman’s fresh and slightly burlesque music that we remember. Of course he didn’t stop there. Barnum; On the Twentieth Century; I Love My Wife; and The Will Rogers Follies. Add to these his stand alone songs; his scores for movies and television specials; and you have a consummate musician for whom playing and composing was his life.

Local production company Flourish is committed to furthering the careers of those great performers who should always be playing leads but too often end up in the ensemble. Producer Catherine Langley is a Cy Coleman fans – “his way with melody is just amazing” and she’s gathered a rich cast under the directorship of Scott Hendry for this short tribute run. There’s the indefatigable Stephen Wheat, who is also a talented Director; Meg Hoult, Henry Brett, Holly James and two of my favourite musical theatre performers of the decade Luigi Lucente and Nicole Molloy. Those who saw Luigi in Pippin, or as Leo Frank in Parade, or channelling Jim Morrison in Kaleidoscope  (he’s a gifted pianist as well) will be bemused, like me, that an artist with so much talent is not a superstar…but it’s just the nature of the business here in Australia. Nicole is a true triple threat, seen last month in Company and last year in Loving Repeating. She really does do it all…. I’ve even seen her in straight plays.

Like most of our performers they’ve worked together before and admire each others’ work. In fact it’s a bit of a love fest between the whole cast under the musical direction of Lucy O’Brien. It’s not a flash production….just six superb voices interpreting equally superb music.

“The rehearsal time is quite short, so it helps that we know each others’ work, even if we haven’t been in a show together before,” Nicole tells me.

“And it’s an added advantage if you can read music,” Luigi says. “In future I think everyone in a show is going to need to be able to do that, especially as music gets more complex and rehearsal times get shorter. We have some ensemble numbers with close harmonies, and it’s a bonus to be able to read where to pitch the harmony.”

So are they both Cy Coleman fans? “We all are,” Nicole enthuses. “What’s not to love?”

“I think it’s that jazz sensibility that speaks to people, though his music for On the Twentieth Century is far more classically influenced. That’s the beauty of longevity – you can musically cross so many styles, especially when you start as a child.”

Everyone has a favourite Cy Coleman song: for Nicole it’s ‘Big Spender’ from Sweet Charity. “I know it’s not a meaningful ballad but I adore it. It’s a wonderfully raunchy ballsy song and so much fun to perform.” Luigi stayed with the same show. “I’d have to say ‘Too Many Tomorrows’…it’s a quintessential show ballad and I love it.”

As for me, The Best is Yet to Come at The Basement, this Sunday and Monday (Nov 22 & 23, 2015). See you there.