Behind the Scenes: Finding ourselves in music of the past

There are times during this heated political season when you might think that some candidates want to take America back to the 1950s or early 1960s, a time that many of us think of as simpler and safer.

Dominick Cicco, left, Eric Scott Anthony and Casey Gensler are musicians and singers in the FST Cabaret productin of "Shake, Rattle & Roll." MARIA LYLE PHOTO/FST

It may only seem that way in our memories (or from the endless reruns of TV shows like “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It to Beaver”), because the issues that severely divide us socially and politically today had not yet become so openly discussed.

But you don’t have to listen to the politicians to feel like you’re being thrown back a half century. By some sort of strange coincidence, three new stage productions in area theaters are offering audiences a different kind of reminder of what those years were like.

In case you’ve forgotten, that’s when that evil “devil’s music” — better known as rock ’n’ roll — was beginning to supplant the Perry Comos or the crooning and swinging Rat Pack for top spots on the Hit Parade.

Actually, one of the shows, the new musical “Happy Days” at the Manatee Players, aims to evoke the era the way “Grease” once did. The show is based on a hit 1970s television show about those simpler days in the 1950s. It features original songs in the style of the period by Paul Williams to tell a story about a group of kids trying to save their hang-out, Arnold’s Malt Shop, from being torn down.

But the two other shows deal directly with hits of the era — “Shake, Rattle & Roll” at Florida Studio Theatre’s Cabaret and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” at Venice Theatre.

Both are fun musical-revue productions with strong singers performing long lists of familiar songs, along with a few that may have been forgotten or live somewhere in the back of your memory.

Eric Scott Anthony, left, Jonathan Brown, Casey Gensler and Dominick Cicco are featured in "Shake, Rattle & Roll," a Florida Studio Theatre Cabaret show about the early hits of the rock era. MARIA LYLE PHOTO/FST

“Shake, Rattle and Roll” is an intriguing follow-up to the FST Cabaret’s season-opening “That’s Life Again,” which focused on songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and stars of the day that were about to be pushed aside by younger artists like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holley.

The show features a cast of four versatile singer/musicians — Eric Scott Anthony, Jonathan Brown, Dominick Cicco and Casey Gensler, joined by drummer Tony Bruno. Most of the cast members play guitar, piano and other instruments while running through such hits as “Rock Around the Clock” and “Peggy Sue” to “Bye Bye Love,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “La Bamba” and “Johnny B. Goode.”

At times, I wanted the arrangements to be a little more vibrant or have more of a driving, pulsing sound, but they do create a good feeling without ever trying to recreate any particular singer’s style.

At the start, the show appears to be about the changing sounds of the time, but the focus shifts to a slight degree in the second half after a sweet rendition of Don McLean’s “American Pie,” about the “day the music died,” with the deaths of Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson Jr., better known as The Big Bopper. Suddenly, the show becomes more about those musicians whose lives were cut short in a plane crash.

For the most part, the show, created by Richard Hopkins, Rebecca Hopkins and Jim Prosser and staged by Dennis Courtney, is a lively tribute to an era of changing sounds. And it was clear during a recent Saturday evening performance that even the oldest audience members, who may have hated the music when it was new, were enjoying the memories the familiar melodies and guitar riffs were bringing back.

There’s a similar energy about “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” which gets a spirited production in Venice. The cast of five men and four women touch on a range of styles and emotions performing more than three dozen hit songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (who also have two different songs featured in “Shake, Rattle & Roll”).

Tatum Harvey and Syreeta Banks (top) and Kristofer Geddie and Brandon Michael Fleming in "Smokey Joe's Cafe' PHOTO BY RENEE MCVETY/VENICE THEATRE

That’s a lot of looking back, but these two musical revues fortunately don’t rely on the gauze of nostalgia. They seem lively and fresh and help us to see how musical tastes grow, shift and come around again. What once seemed forbidden now sounds more tame, but there’s always a catch in real rock to give it a little edge.

And as long as people are singing these songs in new ways, they’ll stay with us, reshaping our own feelings about the era.

Contact Jay Handelman at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. Keep up with entertainment coverage at artssarasota.com. Follow me on twitter at twitter.com/jayhandelman.