Cole Porter 125

I went to see a performance at the Auditorium Theatre last night night called "Cole Porter 125: A Birthday Celebration." Singers, accompanied by an orchestra, sang Cole Porter songs and the audience was shown a montage of photos documenting Porter's life. I largely enjoy the music of Cole Porter so when this show was announced, I knew I wanted to see it. Unfortunately, some of the performances weren't as great as I'd hoped they would be. Some of the singers sounded like they should have been stomping at the Sheraton rather than on stage at the Auditorium Theatre. They just didn't have the vocal chops for that kind of venue. During one singer's uninspired rendition of "I Concentrate on You" I kept thinking, "Michael Buble would tear this up!" The same goes for "It's All Right with Me" but I thought, "Harry Connick, Jr. tears this up!" But the song that really made me crazy was "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." It was turned into a Lawrence Welk number! I hated it. There were some bright spots. Joan Curto's versions of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Leader of a Big-Time Band" were wonderful and Tammy McCann did an excellent job on "Riding High" and "All of You." The City Lights Orchestra, while overpowering at times, was great also.

My sister and I had to change seats at the intermission because some elderly guy behind us kept shouting the song titles to his wife who had a hearing problem. Annoying. I understand some people are hard of hearing, but there are ways to handle hearing loss that don't involve shouting throughout a performance. Jeez. On top of that, some dude behind me kept trying to open something wrapped in cellophane during the first act. Oy! I had to turn and give him the half turn before he stopped. I hate to sound like a curmudgeon, but I don't know why some folks just can't sit still and be quiet during a performance. And, if they can't, they need to stay home.