Downstairs Cabaret’s new offering, “Dream Lover,” really is
nothing more than a nightclub act, but it’s a very good nightclub act. Singer
Robert Shaw (definitely not to be confused with the actor or the choral
conductor) simply salutes singer-actor-songwriter Bobby Darin,
a huge star in the late 1950’s and early 60’s, known for songs like “Mack the
Knife,” “Splish Splash,” and “Dream Lover.” Darin’s
music had a brief resurgence during that “lounge” revival that was big for
about 15 minutes in the 1990’s, but he seems to be semi-forgotten now.
Bobby Darin was a pretty impressive
musician – he started out as a Brill Building songwriter and played several
instruments – and was revered as a nightclub entertainer by the likes of Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. He was also something of a movie star, and
part of a golden 1960’s Hollywood couple during his marriage to Sandra Dee. In
poor health all his life from several childhood bouts of rheumatic fever, Darin was a driven man (he died at 37), and it shows in a
lot of his music making.
“Mack the Knife,” his biggest hit, typifies his style:
swinging, almost relentlessly hip, seemingly loose but always tight and in
control, whether he was singing “Splish Splash” or
“My Darling Clementine.” It’s mighty entertaining, if a bit dated; one wonders
how Darin would have developed as a musician if he’d
lived longer.
Darin’s life definitely had tabloid moments, and he had an
increasingly dark, strange side as he aged. That’s not the point of “Dream
Lover.” The between-songs patter is a once-over-lightly of Darin’s
life, but this show really is just about the music, and the music is nifty.
Robert Shaw channels Darin’s
distinctive style without imitating him, trying to look like him, or aping his
mannerisms. (Well, there is a lot of finger-snapping, but try singing this
music without snapping your fingers.). Shaw’s strong, solid voice is impressive
in driving arrangements of sometimes-syrupy ballads like “On the Street Where
You Live” and “Call Me Irresponsible,” but a highlight of the set is his quiet
rendition of “My Funny Valentine,” with piano accompaniment. (We’re told that
while Darin was a star of the rock ‘n’ roll charts and
Vegas lounges, his heart was with the Great American Songbook, and there are
pleasing renditions of plenty of standards here.) All of Darin’s
big hits are here, too, and sound just as snappy as the originals.
Shaw’s skilled singing is matched by his back-up group, the
Lonely Street Jazz Orchestra: music director Matthew Romy
on piano, Emiliano Lasansky
on bass, Greg Gascon on drums, Charlie Carr on trumpet,
Alistair Duncan on trombone, and Glenn Estey on
reeds. Each gets a chance to shine individually in the course of the show, and
they’re an ideally tight ensemble.
Somebody else will have to write “the real Bobby Darin
story,” but “Dream Lover” does bring back the songs of a performer who should
be better remembered. It’s a polished and very entertaining couple of hours of
musical time traveling in very good company.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2013.
