Three for a Song: Cocktails for Three

Michael Miyazaki | July 13, 2016

Three for a Song

Cocktails for Three

Creative Cauldron, Falls Church, VA, July 1, 2016

Reviewed by Michael Miyazaki for Cabaret Scenes

Three-for-a-Song-Cabaret-Svenes-Magazine_212

Doug Bowles, Iyona Blake, Alex Hassan

The Three for a Song show, Cocktails for Three, steeped the audience in the atmosphere of the ’20s and ’30s, presenting songs celebrating themes and performers of the era.

Alex Hassan, the leader/pianist of the group, is a specialist in the music of the era with extensive collections of sheet music and recordings. A regular feature of Three for a Song’s shows are that period’s forgotten gems that the group unearths, such as: “I’ve Got a Communistic Feeling for You” (Allie Wrubel), about a rich man discovering that love wants to make him share his wealth; “Honeymooning in Manhattan” an un-recorded song written by Louis Armstrong and Morace Gerlach; and “Lets Hit the Nail on the Head,” a Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler charm number.

Singers Doug Bowles and Iyona Blake adopt a style informed by the era. Bowles’ baritone has a sound reminiscent of a young Rudy Vallee (without the megaphone). He scored with both a dramatically powerful version of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (E.Y. “Yip” Harburg/Jay Gorney) and a suite of German songs of the era. Iyona Blake has the approachable grandeur of a young Kate Smith. Her Ethel Waters tribute showed her range with a fun, bluesy take on “Birmingham Bertha” (Grant Clarke/Harry Akst) and a wrenching “Supper Time” (Irving Berlin). Hassan accompanies with a dance-band jauntiness. He also opened the second set with a fantasia of Harry Warren-composed songs.

Although the show was steeped in the atmosphere of another time, it is telling how many Depression-era themes resonate today—whether in themes of economic disenfranchisement, racial tension, or the control of substances. Ironically, hearing arrangements of standards like “Georgia on My Mind” (Hoagy Carmichael/Stuart Gorrell) and “Love Is Here to Stay” (George and Ira Gershwin) stripped to their original core brings an unexpected freshness to the material.

Tags: "Georgia on My Mind", Allie Wrubel, American Songbook, Birmingham Bertha, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Brother Can You Spare a Dime?, Buddy Can You Spare a Dime?, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, CD, Clubs, Cocktails for Three, Composers, Creative Cauldron, Depression-era, Doug Bowles, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, Ethel Waters, Falls Church, George Gershwin, Grant Clarke, Great American Songbook, Harold Arlen, Harry Akst, Harry Warren, Hoagy Carmichael, Honeymooning in Manhattan, I’ve Got a Communistic Feeling for You, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Iyona Blake, Jay Gorney, Jazz, Jazz Singers, Jazz Vocalists, Kate Smith, Lets Hit the Nail on the Head, Louis Armstrong, Love Is Here to Stay, lyricists, Michael Miyazaki, Morace Gerlach, Musicals, Musicians, Nightclubs, Popular Song, Revues, Rudy Vallee, Show Tunes, Singers, Songbook, Standards, Stuart Gorrell, Supper Clubs, Supper Time, Ted Koehler, Three for a Song, Venues, Vocalists