By Norm Harris
“Cafe Society,” a new evening soiree series at Flushing Town Hall, treated ticketholders to a sneak peak of several plays in progress with its special program, “On the Way to Broadway.”
“On the Way To Broadway” was conceived of and supervised by Chapman Roberts, a Broadway director whose credentials include, “Five Guys Named Moe” and “Smoky Joe's Cafe.” Assembled onstage by Roberts, the cast of 33 included character actor Al Lewis, most famous for his turn as “Grandpa” in the television sitcom, “The Munsters,” British actor James Randolph, Natalie Carter of “Cats” and Patrick Jude, star of the recent revival of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
As the evening unfolded for Cafe Society ticketholders, Roberts defined “On the Way to Broadway” as a way to preview new shows while working out “minor bugs” in the staging and other areas of production.
“This is where we start the process, on the way to Broadway,” Roberts told his audience.
The evening's offerings included: “40 Acres and a Mule,” a drama set in the Reconstruction Period; “Chubbettes” a comedic weight-loss odyssey; “Free Mel Greenberg,” about a bogus film producer; “Come Up N' See Me,” a parody on Mae West; “America, Inc: An American Story in Black and White,” a story by Richie Havens and T. Howard Smith; “Falling Star,” a musical; “Revelations,” reggae-styled gospel.
Susan Agin, the spokeswoman for Cafe Society, says Flushing Town Hall will feature future readings of new shows in progress twice a year, once in the fall and once again in the spring.
“You won't find anything like Cafe Society in Manhattan and that's the idea,” said Agin, “There was an immense gathering of talent here on Saturday. Practically everyone had Broadway credits. With Cafe Society, Flushing Town Hall is committed to bringing exceptional talent to Queens audiences.”
Agin adds that future Cafe Society events will include literary evenings, film screenings and discussions, and upcoming performances of entire works. The next Cafe Society is Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. and will feature Queens' own Outrageous Fortune Company in a staged reading of “Kissing Christine,” a one-act play by John Patrick Shanley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Moonstruck.”
Also this past weekend at the Hall, the “Jazz Live” series added tenor sax and songwriting great Stanley Turrentine, to the growing list of legendary artists to grace the Hall's newly-renovated musical performance space.
At 66, a stylishly-dressed Turrentine, a tall, trim, imposing figure, came to center stage with his custom-made midnight blue Selmer horn and knocked 'em dead, from start to finish. His set, a mixture of the old and new, including cuts from his recent CD, “Do You Have Any Sugar?”, showed the man to be in fine form. This stood especially true for his sweet renditions of the tunes, “Easy Walker,” a Billy Taylor specialty, and his own 70s classic, “Sugar.”
Turrentine's set was made doubly memorable due to solid support from an awesome ensemble of younger and hugely-talented cats who jammed with Turrentine as if they've jammed all their lives together. Paul Thompson's intense bass solo was reminiscent of a younger Charles Mingus while the drummer Lenny Robern, during the Coltrane classic, “Impressions”, maneuvered his sticks from trap to cymbal as if he was a man possessed. More crowd pleasers: Turrentine's mesmerizing tune, “Pieces of a Dream” and his very hip, uptempo “Don't Mess with Mr. T.”, written for him by the late Marvin Gaye. The success of these two had much to do with the piano mastery of Turrentine protege, David Budway.
For more information about Cafe Society, “Jazz Live” and other programs at the Hall, call 463-7700, ext. 224.
