March Songbook (3/31/14)

Monday night’s concert featured one composer, Steve Silverstein, in combination with 11 different lyricists (12 if you count him as his own lyricist), performing a total of 18 songs. Whew! The vocalists ranged from students and recent graduates of the American Music and Dramatic Academy to current Broadway swings and understudies to more mature performers, some of whom are trying to make a return to performing. Eclectic, to say the least. The opening number, There Aren’t Enough Hours, poked fun at Mr. Silverstein himself—playing auditions, coaching students, mounting cabaret acts, composing, laundry, dishes, etc.—a laundry list of not enough hours for too much to do. It was a good start to a fun show.

A “sleep” set caught my attention. Put It to Bed catalogued all of the frantic things keeping a fellow from falling asleep, including worrying about falling asleep, and figuring out how to fall asleep, and just how much sleep he’d finally get when ... he ... falls ... asl–alarm clock! The second, Burning Down the Days, was a little gentler at the opening, mulling over relationship problems until they escalate and finally subside.

A trio of laments followed. Mr. Silverstein said he was drawn to Disney-style heroines, and it pretty much showed in the linked trio of songs, Mother Nature’s Lament, with some clever lyrics (“My hot flashes caused the greenhouse effect”); Ice Queen’s Lament, with backup singers—the Chiller Dillers; and Tooth Fairy’s Lament (“Traipsing through the forest with a sack of coins, and a sack of rot-ten teeth!”). One was a stand-alone song and two were from children’s shows.

The kids from Ice Queen’s Lament scored a hit on their own with What’s Your Problem, an ensemble number about New Yorkers bugging each other—on the streets, on the subway–and it featured honest-to-goodness harmony, so you know it made me happy. A Christmas Confession was quite funny. A lonely gal is on the outside looking in at all the people having lots of Christmastime fun when she realizes, “I want a Jew for Christmas!”, and “Trader Joe’s has vegan ham.” This particular song was actually composed for a Christmas version of Songbook, where composers are asked to submit a Christmas song from one of their own shows or to compose a Christmas song especially for Songbook.

Without slighting any of the lyricists, Mr. Silverstein seemed to have an affinity with a couple of them that he’s worked with for long periods of time, including Ruth Williamson and John Treacy Egan. In fact, the final number was Ms. Williamson’s lyrics sung by Mr. Egan, Path You Choose. It was a positive, almost-power-
ballad–type of song that produced a good effect without being overly sentimental.
Mr. Silverstein’s music showed a broad range of styles that encompassed vaudeville, pop rock, ethnic (a few hints of Fiddler-like riffs), and generally well-rounded theater music. This was a highly enjoyable Songbook, and I look forward to the April installment.

ConcertMeister