As the
grandson of the richest man in the state of Indiana, with a mother who
encouraged him to play piano and violin from the age of six, and further
subsidized the
publishing of his beginning compositions, Cole Porter planted his
footsteps on a musical path early on in life. His
name came from an amalgam
of his parents, Kate Cole and Sam Porter and by the time he was a
student at Yale he was well known for writing football fight songs and
full scale college productions for both the Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity and the Yale Dramatic Association.
To become
better acquainted with this man of music, waltz over to Music Theatre of
Connecticut for a delightful, delicious and de-loverly production of
“Cole,” devised
by Benny Green and Alan Strachan, weekends until Sunday, May 12. The evening not only showcases a parade of wonderful hit songs, it also includes
facts and anecdotes about the man himself and his intriguing life.
Cole Porter’s
serious music career began in New York with the 1916 flop “America
First” which was dismissed as being a high class college show.
Telling the
world he was with the French Foreign Legion, he traipsed off to Paris to
live the high life and forged a mutually convenient alliance with an
American divorced socialite Linda Thomas that
helped conceal their gender preferences.
Taking the Broadway musical stage by storm in his second try, he also gave Hollywood a passing whistle with less success.
He was an
accomplished wordsmith, noted for his wit and sophisticated patter. He
loved to write for Ethel Merman, likening her booming voice to a “band
going by,” as well as for Eleanor Powell and Ginger
Rogers. Even a serious horseback riding accident didn’t stop the incredible lyrics and tunes.
Kevin Connor,
the versatile director of the show, has assembled a fine quartet of
singers to present a string of pearls of his greatest hits.
The stylings
of Blair Alexis Brown, Kathy Calahan, Philip Chaffin and Eric Scott
Kincaid skip merrily through favorites like “Another Op'nin', Another
Show,” “I Love Paris,” “Love for Sale,” “Night
and Day,” “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “In the Still of the Night.” Their version of “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” is a showstopper.
For tickets
($25-45, $5 off students and seniors), call MTC, 246 Post Road East,
lower level, Colonial Green, Westport at 203-454-3883 or online at www.musictheatreofct.com.
Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
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