The Crazy Coqs – 10 July 2023
3.5***
Melissa Errico is an American singer from New York with a long and distinguished career on Broadway and beyond. After landing the role of Cosette in a touring version of Les Miserables whilst still at Yale, she went on to star in such shows as My Fair Lady, Call Me Madam, Camelot and The Sound of Music. The Wall Street Journal considered her 2018 album “Sondheim Sublime” the best all-Sondheim album ever recorded.
By way of introduction, she described herself as a “100% Italian girl” with historic links to showbiz and a three week opportunity to play the femme fatale in Europe whilst her teenage kids were in summer camp. In this 80 minute show, Errico presents what she describes as the best Italian fish stew – a personal catalogue of favourite and significant songs selected from across her life and career, whether it be through her high achieving family connection, past roles in musical theatre, or songwriters/composers that have been special influences.
Melissa Errico certainly knows how to dazzle. Sweeping onto stage to a rapturous reception, she epitomised showbiz glamour in a glitzy figure hugging gown with more sparkle than a planet sized glitter ball. Behind her, the James Pearson band (James Pearson – MD & piano, Graeme Blevins – sax/flute, Sam Burgess – double bass and Chris Higgenbottom – drums) sparkled with equal intensity instrumentally. Pearson’s accompaniment was beautiful throughout and Graeme Blevins’ fills and solos on saxophone were superb. Considering Errico had only arrived in town the previous day, the opportunity for rehearsal would have been limited, but the performance throughout was impressively cohesive. Probably because she and James Pearson are old friends. Talking of which, a long time friend from Paris – Isabelle Georges – joined Errico midway through the set to duet delightfully as well as take a crazy solo spot involving a kazoo break and wearing a miniature Eiffel Tower strapped to her head!
The song programme which ran to 15 or so songs plus encores touched on most of the great writers of the American Song Book with the emphasis on Sondheim but also Michel Legrand both of whom Errico described as mentors, but very opposing characters. Inter song discourse of a slightly gushing quality filled out Errico’s back story in useful detail, but on occasion came across as maybe too much information or slightly unrehearsed. Mostly though it was good context and often very amusing (Americans only know three French words – amour, bonjour and croissant…)
For me, across a consistently high standard of performance, the real highlights were Sondheim’s lovely “Move On” from “Sunday in the Park with George (Seurat)”, Cole Porter’s “Its Alright With Me”, the “Once Upon A Summertime”/“Windmills of Your Mind” medley, Legrand’s “Amour” medley with Isabelle Georges, the clever “I Can’t Speak French” written specifically for Errico by Mark Shaiman of Hairspray fame, and “You Must Believe in Spring”, also Legrand.
This was a very personal show where superior singing and superior songcraft combined to deliver a superior entertainment which was very well received by the audience. Classy and sophisticated, yet bursting with energy and joie de vivre. Errico and Georges were having so much fun themselves, they even rounded things off with a tap dance routine. I’m not sure I would regard Errico as a classic femme fatale though. In truth she’s a 100% all American girl with a heck of a voice.