One 'Smasheroo!' of a production

Back in the Broadway days of yore, when a reviewer sensed a hit opening, he would headline: "A Smasheroo!”

Well, this isn’t Old Broadway and I’m not a famed New York reviewer, but I’ll tell you this: the Hillbarn production of "Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” is a "Smasheroo!” Just the best music revue I have covered on the Peninsula, even outdoing Hillbarn’s own "My Way,” the songs of Frank Sinatra, of several seasons ago.

OK! So, this is a run through of well-established and already famed songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, but that alone doesn’t make any show a "hit.”

A hit musical requires outstanding performers, under strong direction, with high level musical stage choreography, appropriate settings and costumes and a great band and Hillbarn has come up with all of that.

The songs of Leiber and Stoller are out of the early rock and roll era and these performers make the stuff really rock.

Try on some of their hits, just those made famous by Elvis Presley: "Hound Dog,” "Jailhouse Rock,” "Love Me,” "Loving You” and "Don’t.” Or, how about "Kansas City,” "Yakety Yak,” "Charley Brown,” "Dance With Me” and "Stand by Me.”

Forty songs in all are covered by an amazingly talented collection of eight singer/dancers, four guys and four gals, each unique in his and her own appearance and performance style and, yet, blending as one all through the show. In solo, or unison, this cast really rocks.

Just to name them doesn’t do it. Each needs to be appreciated for the personal touches in their performances.

These are Cassie Blake, Courtney Iventosch, Victoria Morgan, David Martin, Erin Sjostrom, Gary Stanford, Jr., his brother Kevin Stanford and Justin D. Torres.

As much as I dislike singling out any one performer in such an excellent cast, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Kevin Stanford is clearly a fully formed major talent. He has complete control of every vocal inflection, facial expression and bodily movement and knows just what to do with each of these when putting all of that together.

Then, much credit needs to go to Joe Duffy, the director/choreographer who came to Hillbarn as the associate artistic director with a well rounded portfolio of national theatrical experience and has clearly put it all to use in this show. I challenge any director/choreographer to do better than his work on this production.

And it also takes a great band to build a great revue and Hillbarn Musical Director Greg Sudmeier pulled together a small band that fills the theater with a big band sound, with he on the drums, Don Turney on keyboards, Jim Orsetti on saxophones, Jeff O’Sammon on guitar and John LoPrete on bass.

Place it all on one of Lee Basham’s creative period sets, add in some very effective sound and lighting work by John Kowtko and Don Coluzzi and there you are: right back in the 1950s and 1960s rockin’ with the rest of ‘em at Smokey Joe’s Cafe.