There’s a bit of a chill in the air this Saturday, October 15, 2016 evening as folks make their way down Main Street in Manasquan, NJ to address No. 173 — the Algonquin Arts Theatre.
Once inside, patrons take their seats, listening to the sounds of some of the world’s most celebrated singers played on the house PA system — a foreshadowing of events to come — as this evening, Broadway’s own Carter Calvert is here to present Viva La Diva!: The Music of Carole King, Barbra Streisand, Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin (and many more).
Ms. Calvert is probably best known to New York City audiences for her role in the Tony-nominated It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues on Broadway, about which The New York Times wrote, “Calvert effervesces: her voice echoes chimes in the night” and “her smoldering grip on ‘Fever’ is positively dangerous.”
Other New York City credits include Forbidden Broadway: Comes Out Swinging — for which she received rave reviews — and the original cast of The Thing About Men at the Promenade Theatre.
Calvert also toured Europe in Smokey Joe’s Cafè, played Grizabella in the national tour of CATS, and appeared in the World Premiere of Forbidden Vegas, in addition to playing the title role in Always, Patsy Cline, opposite Emmy-award-winner Sally Struthers, right here at Manasquan’s Algonquin Arts Theatre.
And tonight Calvert is back home at The Algonquin to present Viva La Diva!, Calvert’s personal tale of “making it in the biz” and her tribute to the many divas who inspired her.
As the unmistakable intro to Kander and Ebb’s “All That Jazz” fills the auditorium, Calvert struts onto the stage, her hips swaying to the boom of the beating drum, her voice stylistically soft and brash, playing directly to an adoring audience which responds with applause, whoops, and hollers.
Calvert takes a moment to introduce her back-up band — the Roger Cohen Quartet — featuring Roger Cohen on drums, Jim Donica on bass, Mike Wilson on guitar, and Eugene Gwozdz on keyboards.
Stating, “Here’s the group who will accompany me tonight in ‘Divadom,’” Calvert lets the audience know right away that this evening will be a family affair. As such, she reveals several secrets about her drummer, Roger Cohen, divulging, “He’s really talented,” “He’s cute,” and “He’s my husband!”
And not only does tonight’s family-friendly show feature Calvert’s husband on drums, it also spotlights daughter, Ella, 10, who will perform on stage with her talented mom. In addition, her mother, Carolyn, is in the audience from Cincinnati, Ohio, because, as Calvert explains, “she just loves the town of Manasquan and the people here!”
Calvert — wearing a rhinestone bracelet given to her as a gift by TV’s Sally Struthers, after they shared this stage together in Always, Patsy Cline — tells the story about a song which was given to Ms. Cline’s husband by a then-unknown 19-year-old songwriter named Hugh Nelson. Although Cline’s husband played the song incessantly around the house, Patsy refused to record it. As time went on, however, Patsy eventually relented and went on to record the song in a single take. The song, “Crazy,” became a worldwide hit, and the unknown songwriter also found fame, as Calvert reveals, “using the name, Willie, instead of Hugh.”
Following an emotional rendition of “Crazy,” Calvert performs a song which is associated with, as she explains, “two divas,” in that it was recorded by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and written and re-recorded by Carole King for King’s best-selling album, Tapestry. Even though “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman” has been a signature song for both artists, Carter makes it her own tonight, her voice interpreting the lyrics and engaging the listener with her artful use of dynamics.
Moving on to yet another Carole King creation from Tapestry, Calvert provides her take on “I Feel the Earth Move,” the red lining of her black skirt flipping and dancing along as she struts to the music. She follows this up with a song from a diva whom Calvert reveals she had a serious “talent crush on” while she was a young girl — Olivia Newton John.
The song?
One which rings true with the crowd of family, friends, and fans in the audience — “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
Another great female singer Calvert says she grew up listening to was Linda Ronstadt, pointing out that not too many divas had the Eagles as their “back-up band.” Singing Ronstadt’s hit, “When Will I Be Loved?,” Calvert’s powerful voice makes it look effortless, as the joyful crowd claps along and the band rocks its way through the tune, finally breaking out into the dynamic three-part vocal harmony chorus at the end.
And just as Linda Ronstadt had a second career after pop as a successful singer of standards, Calvert shows her versatility switching effortlessly between genres and interpreting a jazz standard with style and grace. On Billie Holiday’s “Lover Man,” Calvert tells a story with her voice, fittingly allowing the band to take turns punctuating the narrative as her sultry sound fills the room.
“I love me some jazz!” exclaims Calvert.
After revealing, “You know you’re a diva when you are asked to sing a James Bond theme song,” Calvert’s band plays the ubiquitous James Bond intro — twangy guitar and all — while Calvert leaves the stage. Once she returns, she enters in a flowing pink floor-length gown and performs a potent rendition of Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better,” looking back at one point and nodding to her loving husband singing, “Baby, you’re the best!”
Explaining that Stephen Sondheim once included a song in his Broadway show, A Little Night Music, for an actress who was not a singer, Calvert notes that once Frank Sinatra recorded that tune, it went on to become one of Sondheim’s most popular songs of all time. Re-recorded by diva Judy Collins, Calvert, too, sings “Send in the Clowns,” creating the story with her voice and facial expressions, the character shining through the melody in this true actress’ song.
Next up is a trilogy of tunes dedicated to diva Judy Garland. Lights move across the stage to suggest the motion of the trolley in “The Trolley Song” which segues into “The Man Who Got Away” and, then, Garland’s universally-loved “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Whether it’s a grand gesture or a grand vocal interpretation, Calvert knows how to sell a song — even the signature song of a world-class diva. In doing so, she’s capable of making the audience recall and appreciate the original diva’s performance while enjoying Carter’s own here-and-now musical and dramatic interpretation of the music, thus elevating Calvert to diva status herself.
Following a huge reaction from the crowd, Calvert tells the audience about her recent experience seeing her idol, Barbra Streisand, live. She then performs a bouyant version of Streisand’s “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” not only owning the song’s sentiment, but the entire stage — not to mention the audience’s hearts — as well.
After a short intermission, Calvert returns to the stage with a charismatic rendition of “Cabaret.” On this number, she captivates the delighted crowd with her telling of a story within a story, replete with character voices.
Moving on to another Streisand classic, “The Way We Were,” Calvert uses her extensive knowledge of phrasing to convey the emotion of the song and connect with her audience simply by standing and singing.
Ever the family affair this evening, even the family dog gets into the act as Calvert’s beagle, Miles, surprises everyone in the auditorium — especially Carter— as he inadvertently wanders out onto the Algonquin stage.
“Oops… we forgot to lock up the beagle,” laughs Calvert, humorously adding, “and is he in trouble — nobody upstages me!”
At this point, both man and wife share a smile in the spotlight as husband Roger momentarily steps away from his drum set to play the impromptu role of dog catcher.
Following this surprise from a family member, as a tribute to Ethel Merman, Calvert performs “Some People,” with help from her 10-year-old daughter, Ella, who joins her on stage.
When asked after the show about singing with her mom, Ella reveals this was her “first time” so she was “kinda nervous.” That said, she thought “every song Mom did was great” and, as a result, she “didn’t have a favorite.” A talented fifth-grader, Ella is a musician who plays flute, piccolo, clarinet, piano, and ukulele, plus she tap dances. Moreover, according to her grandmother, she is very serious about her music and practices some days for hours.
With the rest of the family — Roger, Ella, and even beagle Miles — as part of the act, Calvert jokingly asks her mother, Carolyn, if she would like to come up on stage and perform, too! Mom graciously declines preferring, instead, to enjoy watching Carter in her various roles, all of which she loves, acknowledging to us after the show, “She brings me great delight. She’s been a joy to raise.”
Following a heartfelt rendition of Bette Midler’s “The Rose,” which she dedicates to a close friend in the audience, Calvert performs selections from Evita — originally made famous by diva Patti LuPone as Eva Perón — a role which Carter’s mom says was her all-time favorite to see her daughter play due to Calvert’s “dramatic interpretation.”
Moving on to some rock and soul, the avid crowd claps along to Christine McVie’s hit for Fleetwood Mac, “Say You Love Me,” and is then treated to a powerhouse instrumental version of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” the band members soloing and trading riffs as the audience goes wild.
Calvert returns to the stage to wow the crowd in a blue one-shouldered gown, this time performing Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” As Jim Donica alternately bows and plucks the strings of his bass and Roger Cohen uses both mallets and hands in lieu of drumsticks, Calvert’s understated vocal performance perfectly communicates the emotion of this song.
Jazzing it up, the entire group really swings it on Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” Calvert further accentuating the rhythm and the beat through her movement.
Coming to the close of a captivating evening of songs and stories, Calvert tells the audience that her next tune is a “two-for-one diva special” in that it was written by diva Dolly Parton and recorded by diva Whitney Houston. After performing “And I Will Always Love You,” Calvert concludes the show with a bang by presenting a simply electric version of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
As the crowd rises to its feet, whistling and applauding, Calvert makes her way up the main theatre aisle high-fiving, shaking hands, and hugging members of the audience. Eventually, she reaches the outer lobby where she greets her husband, daughter, and mom, in addition to some other friends here tonight to enjoy her performance at The Algonquin.
But how does she respond to the many other fans, too, who offer their compliments as she smiles, chats, and signs autographs with them?
Like they’re family, too.
Which just goes to show that, for Carter Calvert, tonight’s performance at The Algonquin truly is a family affair.
For more on Carter Calvert, please go to www.cartercalvert.com. For more on upcoming events at The Algonquin Arts Theatre — including The Guthrie Brothers present Everything Everly: The Guthrie Brothers Sing The Best of the Everly Brothers on Sunday, November 13 — see www.algonquinarts.org.
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