Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 7, 1994 TAG: 9405090134
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mill Mountain Theatre's production of the musical tribute to jazzman Louis Jordan is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. This show's magic is in its exuberant simplicity and in the special chemistry between cast and audience.
The all-black, all-male ensemble cast of six use their energy and charm to woo the audience into a party participation mood. By the end of Act I, people voluntarily join the cast onstage in a conga line dance to the calypso number, ``Push Ka Pi She Pie.''
The show is a revue rather than a play and has the slimmest of plot lines. The time is the present. Nomax, played by Raun Ruffin, has an argument with his girlfriend and stays up all night drowning his depression in drink and listening to the radio. The radio station he's listening to is paying tribute to Louis Jordan, whose innovative ``jump'' style in the 1940s made him one of the forerunners of rock 'n' roll.
Ruffin demonstrates an excellent voice in his bluesy opening number, ``Early in the Morning.'' In fitting with his mood, his apartment set is in bleak, black-and-white tones. But about halfway through the scene, a fantasy in Nomax's head begins to take on a life of its own. The five Moes pop out of the stage floor and the wings in outlandish, colorful zoot suits. From that point on, the theater is jumpin' and jivin' and alive with energy, color, light and music.
Your feet simply cannot stay still as the five Moes sing and dance their way through a string of Jordan's classic hits. The five Moes - Big Moe (played by James Solomon Benn), No Moe (Antoine Pierre Brunson), Little Moe (McKinley Johnson), Eat Moe (Lee Palmer) and Four-Ey ed Moe (Marshall Titus) - put their talents to work teaching Nomax some lessons about women, romance and relationships.
On occasion, the six-piece orchestra overpowers the lyrics, so at times you may find yourself straining just a bit to catch every word. Most of the time, the orchestra is onstage behind a scrim. But during Act II, the orchestra platform rolls forward to become part of a cabaret set. Here, the audience gets to truly appreciate conductor David Caldwell's keyboard finesse, along with reeds, bass, trombone, trumpet and drums.
Guest director and choreographer Kenny Ingram of Chicago pulls together a fine ensemble cast to produce a wonderful evening's entertainment. Performances are well-balanced; no one outshines another. The actors' exchanges with the audience lend an intimate, almost improvised charm to the show, and the atmosphere is finger-snappin', hand-clappin' party-time throughout.
``Five Guys Named Moe''
Continues at Mill Mountain Theatre through May 29; 342-5740.
by CNB