Not forever, just for this season. The May Songbook featured music of
Anna K. Jacobs, whose shows include POP! (an Andy Warhol murder mystery), and Harmony, Kansas (about farmers who get together to sing—and, oh, they’re gay). We heard two songs from POP! and one from Harmony.
Also on the bill were songs from musicals she’s currently writing, Echo and Teeth. Echo is a retelling of the Greek myth Narcissus (told from Echo’s perspective), and Teeth is based on the cult film about—gosh, how do I put this—vagina dentata (I’m NOT making this up, you know!).
The evening opened with Ms. Jacobs singing a sweet song called I’m Australian (she is). She provided both music and lyrics here, though she also writes with other lyricists from time to time. I Bring the Snacks (lyrics by Bill Nelson), from Harmony, followed, chronicling the perceived slight felt by one of the farmers when a new member brought snacks to the meeting, without having been filled in on snack hierarchy. It was a powerhouse song, performed by Bruce Warren, with
Adam Kaplan, Sam Heldt, and Aaron Phillips. Ms. Jacobs writes some fun music, including nice vocal harmonies—always a plus, in my book.
Five songs (music/lyrics by Ms. Jacobs) from Echo were next, sung strongly by Lauren Marcus, Britney Coleman, and Liz Lark Brown, as a trio and individually, as well. Objectify Me (lyrics by Jenny Stafford) was the powerhouse number in this set, with The Albemarle Sound as a nice mood piece. As might be expected, there were many echo (echo, echo) effects throughout. Maybe too many? Hard to tell without the full context of the show.
Six selections from Teeth followed, and all four of the guys from Harmony were joined by Kerri George as our erstwhile heroine, with Melody Madarasz,
Hana Slevin, and Christiana Cole adding vocal harmonies to the mix. Considering that the plot of the show is slightly odd, it only seemed right that some of the songs from it were, too. The songs captured a strong rockabilly feel. A couple of them seemed almost over the top to me, including Sweet Release and Girls Like You, but once again, I think they probably need to do so based on the over-the-top plot. The lyricist for Teeth is Michael R. Jackson.
The two songs from POP!, Up Your Ass, sung by Alyse Alan Louis, and Retrospective, sung by (and written for) Anthony Rapp (he, of Rent fame), were both performed very well. Controversy seems to abound in Ms. Jacobs’ works, here with lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman.
The last piece on the program was Breaking the Chain (lyrics by Mr. Nelson), a song commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League and performed for the first time at an event celebrating their centennial. It was a nice rousing way to end the concert as well as Songbook’s 24th season (I’ve only been attending for four or five years). All of the performers from the evening, including Ms. Jacobs, joined in the sendoff.
A big shout out to John Znidarsic, who produces the event, and to
Cheryl D. Raymond, from Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. And, oh yeah, I’ll be back for the start of the 25th season!
ConcertMeister
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