Talking Cabaret With Chuck Lavazzi – Part III
BY: ANDREA BRAUN - THEATRE ARTS CORRESPONDENT
I had no idea that putting together a cabaret act could be a "Who’s On First" sort of experience until Chuck Lavazzi related the following conversation among Neal Richardson (arranger and accompanist), Tim Schall (director) and himself. The group is trying to figure out a different take on a well-known golden oldie. It’s not getting anywhere much, despite various efforts on everyone’s part.
It went like this:
Neal: You know, I really feel that a kind of blues or rock approach would work. You should go back and listen to your old Bessie Smith records.
Chuck: I don’t have that many Bessie Smith records.
Tim: Chuck, you’re never going to be Bessie Smith anyway.
Chuck: True, on multiple levels.
Tim: What you were kind of doing that last time around was more [like] Al Jolson.
Neal: So maybe we need a little of both.
Tim: Yeah, we need the love child of Al Jolson and Bessie Smith.
Chuck: Well, that would be. . . that would be Sophie Tucker.! Chuck Lavazzi becomes the "Last of the Red Hot Papas." (He also added that had custard pies been available, they would "no doubt have been thrown.")
Et voila
Cabaret artists are often reluctant to publicize their song selections for a couple of good reasons: They want the audience to be surprised, and also, at any time during the rehearsal period, a song may be added or dropped. Lavazzi does have some numbers he’s sure of though (at least he said he is), and I think one of them bears learning about in some detail because of the contemporary connection Tim Schall discovered. The song is Vaudeville legend Bert Williams’ "Nobody." Williams was black, and Lavazzi noted that he (Lavazzi) wanted to sing the song straight to comment on the "terrible racism that Williams, despite his wealth and celebrity status, had to face every day." Williams imbued it with deadpan comedy, lending the performance an air of mock tragedy. Lavazzi said" [‘Nobody’] was the musical heart of Williams’ ‘Mr. Nobody’ character—a hapless sad sack, much like Chaplin’s ‘Little Tramp.’"
But Schall had the idea to combine the song with Kander and Ebb’s "Mr. Cellophane" from the musical, Chicago. Lavazzi told me that the full title of that show is "Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville." Other writers have also noticed a similarity between these two songs. "Once I had a chance to sit down with the sheet music of both," he continued, "the resemblance was uncanny. Take ‘Nobody’ down into the same key as ‘Mr. Cellophane,’ and the refrains seem to just flow into each other." He added that he doesn’t think Kander and Ebb copied "Nobody," but that it is clearly an homage to Williams’ theme song.
So, a medley is born, but then comes the work of weaving the songs into the show, working up the "patter" (the spoken word script which is integral to making the cabaret experience distinct from a concert) and other details. Also, it’s necessary to develop a point of view. Lavazzi doesn’t consider his approach to the period, roughly 1890s-1920s, nostalgic; rather, it is historical. Like all eras, there were good times and bad. But while we can appreciate its arts and music, no one is around to tell us how it felt to live life in America back in those days. As Lavazzi puts it with characteristic humor: "I have no nostalgia for the world of 1910; any time period predating the invention of painless dentistry is not for me."
He says he and his collaborators are still working on "Nobody/Mr. Cellophane," and, of course, the rest of the song list and chat bits. But he, like Gershwin’s Porgy, believes he is "on his way." He wound up this part of our interview by telling me that "[It] is finally starting to look and feel like an actual show. This is where the balance tips away from drudgery and toward the excitement of creation."
We’ll be back after the intermission. . . .
Please continue to follow these occasional articles on the making of Chuck Lavazzi’s cabaret show, then go see it for yourself Mar. 26 and 27 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand. Ample street and covered lot parking is available near the venue, and even if there’s a show at the Fox, there’s room for everyone. The show is produced by the Presenters Dolan. Please visit www.licketytix.com.
TALKING CABARET WITH CHUCK LAVAZZI - PART I, PART II, PART IV, PART V
