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Twelve-year partners Phillip &Jerry celebrate the weekend

Derrick Barry as Britney Spears

Show Director Miss Cie

Venus Shante DaVis

Derrick Barry & Toni Dee

Bartender Ricky &GM Bob Brunson

Stevie, singer/comedienne SharonMcNight, Jerry & Josh

Bartender Leon, Derrick Barry &bar baron Jerry

Jawakatema Davenport &Oz’s Dusty DeBris

Scotty & Michael welcome you atthe door

Miss Cie & friends

Gabriel’s bar baron Carl

B-Bob’s DJ Chromatic

Miss Southern StatesRegine Phillips

Dusty DeBris, Frankie Fierce &Christopher

Toni Dee, Judy & Miss Cie

Ambush Mag’s Marsha & Rip

Mobile’s Bold & Beautiful MissVenus with B-Bob’s owner Jerry

GM Bob Brunson, Rick & Patrick

Frankie & Dusty snag the hot shotboy, Josh!

paparazzimobile

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Even more so than last year’s GlennMiller show, Jump Jive and Wail! suc-cessfully integrates music with Prima’s lifestory, a tale of ups & downs and constantre-invention, that for those unfamiliar withthe details of his career keeps you wonder-ing as to what comes next. And becausePrima covered a wide range of styles andsong genres, Jump Jive and Wail! pro-vides a variety of tempos and moods,never settling into just one groove.

Prima grew up at 1812 St. Peter Streeton the edge of the Storyville District. Byage 16, he was a bandleader. Five yearslater, Guy Lombardo caught his act in NewOrleans and convinced him to come toNew York. A move to Los Angeles in 1935led to cameos in some movies and by1939, following the trends of the times, hehad started a big band.

Prima must’ve been quite a guy. Ratherthan run from his Italian heritage duringWorld War II, he took a chance and em-braced it leading to such hits as Angelinaand Zooma Zooma. At a time when thearmed forces and many other institutionswere still segregated, Eleanor Rooseveltheard him play at a black nightclub inWashington, D.C. and invited him to per-form at FDR’s birthday celebration. Howdid he greet the President? “Hey, Daddy-o!” FDR loved it.

As Prima’s popularity began to fade inthe early 1950s, he moved to theup’n’coming Las Vegas with his soon-to-be wife, Keely Smith. In November 1954,they opened the Casbar Lounge at theSahara and by 1958 they were doing five45-minute sets six nights a week starting atmidnight each night(!!!). Prima and Smithbecame known as the “King and Queen ofVegas” and “the greatest stage act couplein American history” with her playing“straight guy” to his wild stage antics. Theywould go on to win a Grammy at the firstAwards ceremony in 1959 for “Best Perfor-mance By A Vocal Group” for That OldBlack Magic.

There’d be more drama in the ’60s asSmith, the fourth of his five wives, divorcedhim and rock’n’roll threatened to eclipsehim. But he changed styles, remarried(Gia Maione who served as an advisor tothe show), and scored one of his biggestsuccesses as the voice of King Louie, theKing of the Orangutans, in Walt Disney’sanimated film The Jungle Book, whichspawned the hit song I Wanna Be LikeYou.

Bandleader Tom Hook, who came upwith the concept for Jump Jive and Wail!along with the Canteen’s EntertainmentDirector Victoria Reed, captures Prima’senthusiastic joie de vivre as vocalist/pia-

nist and is an engaging narrator. The sixoutstanding musicians who back him upfor the 20+ numbers are all a bunch ofshowmen as befits a Prima tribute andthey’re all pretty good singers too!

The horn section, all recent trans-plants to New Orleans, especially standsout. Sexy sax player Eric Bernhardt withhis long hipster sideburns wails on There’llbe No Next Time standing in for Prima’slegendary sideman Sam Butera. Trom-bonist David Phy adds a playfulness withhis long slide. And trumpeter Jay Hagenhits some heavenly notes in the finale ofSing, Sing, Sing one of the greatest songsfrom any era, here given a phenomenallyswinging version.

Cristina Perez capably handles vocalduties, though if you’re not aware of Smith’sdeadpan demeanor, you might think Perezis zoning out during the Prima/Smith sec-tion. In a nice touch, dancers ChanceBushman and Lisa Casper add visual andkinetic appeal by jitterbugging, boogie-woogeying, and jiving in an array of periodappropriate costumes, as well as a gorillasuit, designed by Judy Claverie and Reed.

Prima’s songs and recordings remaininvigoratingly timeless yet the audience Isaw it with recently skewed older includingsome WWII vets. There’s nothing wrongwith that (and might be explained as it wasa matinee up against a Saints game), butI hope new generations will go and dis-cover this vibrant part of New Orleans’ andAmerica’s musical heritage. You have untilNovember 24 to do so. Jump to it!

New Orleans Operaat the Mahalia JacksonTheater throughApril 14, 2013

New Orleans Opera kicked offits season with a gala concert,Celebrating 50 Years of

Placido Domingo, in honor of the 50th

anniversary of the distinguished singer’sdebut with the company. And what a won-derful night it was!

At 71, Domingo continues to sing withwarmth in his voice, a beautiful tone, andthe greatest sensitivity. Not only is therestill a ping in his timbre as he effortlesslyspins out Don Giovanni’s lines, but he isvery much the elegant roue. Mistress ofCeremonies Patricia Clarkson notedDomingo’s acting as well as singing abili-ties, and he did not disappoint with apensive but ultimately triumphant Nemicodella patria from Andrea Chénier as wellas a defiantly accusatory Maravilla fromthe zarzuela Amor, Vida de mi Vida. Yet

he can still come off as a love struck20something as in a duet from LuisaFernanda. He is, in a word, amazing.

Domingo was joined by four othersingers. The exceptional mezzo-sopranoStephanie Blythe brought steeliness andpassion to her arias, her voice evoking therichness of a Stradivarius cello. Ana MaríaMartínez sang beautifully with an earthysensuality while negotiating tricky runs.New Orleans’ own Sarah Jane McMahonwas as charming as ever opposite Domingoin Don Giovanni’s Là ci darem la manowhile bringing out the humane determina-tion of Make Our Garden Grow fromCandide and the glittery sophistication ofLa Traviata’s Libiamo.

Though an audience favorite, tenorDavid Lomelí exhibited some slight strainas he went for the high notes in an other-wise worthy rendition of Nessun dormafrom Turandot. He was more relaxed, andmuch better, in an aria from the zarzuelaLa Tabernera del Puerto.

Conductor Robert Lyall and the Loui-siana Philharmonic Orchestra shiftedseamlessly from Verdi to Wagner to Mozart.Joined by the New Orleans Opera Chorus,the combined forces were especially stir-ring in the Candide finale with Lyall mar-velously capturing its grandeur.

Yet, despite all the outstanding vocal-izations, there were two non-singing mo-ments that I found most memorable. Dur-ing the Libiamo, Domingo, who also has adistinguished career as a conductor, tookthe baton from Lyall in a seemingly im-promptu maneuver and led the orchestrafor several minutes. Even if this had beenplanned, there was a wonderful playful-ness to it.

And after all the bows, as the lightswere coming up, Domingo went towardsthe back of the stage, took a chorus mem-ber by the hand and brought her to thepodium. Although the microphone was nolonger at full volume, Domingo announcedthat she had been in the chorus when hemade his debut 50 years ago. Then, with agraciousness rare in anyone let alone asuperstar, he escorted her offstage arm inarm. May Domingo be around to celebratethe 75th Anniversary of his Debut with NewOrleans Opera!

The N.O.O. season continues withRossini’s The Barber of Seville on No-vember 16 and 18. The cast featuresDeborah Domanski, Michele Angelini,Matthew Worth and the renowned bass-baritone Samuel Ramey as Don Basilio.Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns follows on March 15 and 17, 2013

with Edyta Kulczak (Delilah), Richard Cox(Samson), and New Orleans native GreerGrimsley as the High Priest.

The season concludes on April 12and 14 with Puccini’s Madame Butterflystarring Maria Kanyova as Cio-Cio Sanand Bryan Hymel, yet another New Or-leans native, as Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton.Hmmm...when will N.O.O. program an all-NOLA Traviata with McMahon, Hymel andGrimsley?

Loretta Lynn at IPCasino Resort in Biloxi

Another golden milestone wasrecognized during LorettaLynn’s recent performance at

the IP Casino Resort in Biloxi namely her50th anniversary of becoming a member ofthe Grand Ole Opry. At 80, Lynn has lostnone of the infectious enthusiasm andimpish humor that marks her persona,joking about how she got a very expensivewatch from the Opry in honor of the occa-sion. Seems like she would’ve been just ashappy getting a cheap one.

This should come as no surprise fromthe woman who, as a 13 year old, taughtyounger kids to read in a one room school-house that her great-grandfather had built,something Lynn now looks back on withpride mixed with disbelieving laughter.

Lynn recently had knee surgery andso did not move around the stage as muchas the last time I saw her in 2008. And shewas visibly annoyed at her voice that didn’talways want to cooperate when it came tohitting the high notes despite Lynn’s assur-ances that she was not suffering from acold. But if Lynn’s tone sometimes soundeda little hoarse, on those songs that satcomfortably in her range, like You Ain’tWoman Enough To Take My Man and thebeautiful Kentucky Girl, she was as greatas ever.

For this outing, Lynn related moretales of her life than in past appearanceslike how she supported her family by pick-ing strawberries in Washington State whenshe was just starting out and making only$50 a night for singing. And how PatsyCline “learned” her to yodel. And howConway Twitty and she loved each other,but just as a brother and sister would.

And in case you’re interested, she’strying to find a boyfriend but “can’t find oneold enough.”

(During the performance’s introduc-tion, Patsy Lynn, Loretta’s daughter, told

trodding the boards

by Brian Sands Email: bsnola2@hotmail.com

Jump Jive and Wail! The Music of Louis Primaat the WWII Museum’s Stage Door Canteenthrough Nov. 24

The Stage Door Canteen has a winner with its new, take-no-prisoners revueJump Jive and Wail! The Music of Louis Prima. What in any other citymight’ve been merely a cheesy stroll down memory lane geared towards fans

of an older generation, at The WWII Museum is an authentic, rollicking tribute to a nativeson, superbly done.

[continued on 45]

Tom Hook(piano), EricBernhardt(sax), Jay

Hagen(trumpet), and

David Phy(trombone) inJump Jive and

Wail! TheMusic of Louis

Prima

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how her “Dad could never get away withanything in our house; Mom would write asong about it and the whole world wouldknow!” Loretta has now been inducted intomore Songwriter Halls of Fame than anyother woman. Guess it pays to have anornery spouse.)

Looking resplendent in her bejeweled,sparkly lavender gown (picture Glinda the

Good Witch’s sister), Lynn continues to bea master storyteller in such songs as TheyDon’t Make’em Like my Daddy Any Moreand Love Is the Foundation. She can betouching as in Here I Am Again or Whenthe Tingle Becomes a Chill yet finds thezesty humor in Fist City and One’s on theWay (changing the lyric from Jackie to“Michele is in the White House”).

Though I was disappointed that shedidn’t include any songs from her Grammy-

winning album Van Lear Rose, this wasone of her best-paced concerts with thespotlight firmly planted on her and herback-up singers doing just a few numberswhich gave her a chance to sit down briefly.Not one to rest on her laurels, no wonderLoretta Lynn continues to have a lovefestwith her audiences.

Other headliners coming up at the IPStudio A include Howie Mandel (Nov. 2),

Clint Black (Nov. 3), Kenny Loggins (Nov.9), The Charlie Daniels Band (Nov. 10),and Dwight Yoakam (De. 1). If you pur-chase General Admission tickets, plan tobe at the theater by 7:15pm to get thebetter seats...and leave plenty of time forparking. And before you go to the all-you-can-eat buffet, just remember that the aislebetween the two rows of bar stools in theback of the theater was not made for plussize people!

trodding the boards ...from 44