Two-tone wingtip shoes were only the beginning. The flash and dash that make "Five Guys Named Moe" a joyous evening extended from there through the costumes to lights and set, gained momentum from Charles Creath's talented quartet and rolled through the evening with six talented performers and the vibrant music and lyrics of Louis Jordan.
The musical, a Black Rep production that opened at the Grandel Theatre last night to run through April 25, pays homage to one of the first black composers of popular music to hit white music charts as well as black ones. Jordan's "jump style" also set the stage for looser forms of jazz that evolved into rock and roll.
Ron Himes' direction is smooth and easy; Charles Creath, as always, is a musical director with a splendid sound (he's on keyboard, with Jo-El Williams on sax, Jeffrey Anderson on bass and Leon King on drums) and Lazette Rayford-O'Brien did fine work with the choreography, pushing experienced dancers like Drummond Crenshaw, Sean Walton and Gary E. Vincent, making things a little easier for the others.
Daryl Harris' costumes were a real bright spot, the men in glorious color — Crenshaw (Four-Eyed Moe) in bright green shirt and bright blue trousers, Vincent (No Moe) in orange and tan, Walton (Little Moe) in blue and green, Horace E. Smith (Big Moe) in burgundy and purple, Herman Gordon (Eat Moe) in purple and dark red and Anthony Tarvin Jr. (Nomax) in basic black. They came out for Act II in white shirts with collars and cuffs that matched the slacks and shoes, and later donned white tuxedo jackets with colored lapels. They were dazzling.
The plot is slender; the opening has a resemblance to "The Drowsy Chaperone," with Nomax drinking and listening to a radio (Linda Kennedy is the vintage d.j.). Chris Pickart's set matches the 1930s art deco table model with a huge one as a backdrop, and the Moes come through to do some good works on Nomax, who has been dumped by a girl friend, and to entertain him and us at the same time.
The men sing well together, showing some fine harmonies, and they all get a chance to set the pace in a Jordan classic. Vincent does a lively tap number that he choreographed to "Reet, Petite and Gone," then comes back with "Messy Bessie" and "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens," in which Crenshaw has a glorious supporting role. Tarvin, a standout in his professional debut, scores with "Safe, Sane and Single" and "Early in the Morning (And I ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues)," and the ebullient Crenshaw has a hit duet with Gordon in "Pettin' and Pokin'." The ensemble charms in "Saturday Night Fish Fry," "Choo-Choo Ch-Boogie," "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" and other Jordan hits of long, long ago. I saw "Moe" on Broadway in 1992, and the Black Rep production is every bit as good. It provides lots of fun, and proof to the younger generation that some of us older types also had good music on our radios.
A Black Rep production, through April 25, at the Grandel Theatre
–Joe
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I saw this play about 20 years ago in Detroit. I am going to the Black Rep to see it now. Thanks Joe