New production misses crowd-pleasing polish
The Jazz Singer (out of 4) Starring Patrick Cook, Kaylee Harwood. Directed by Tim French. At the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts until June 18.
It’s a classic tale, the struggle of a son torn by the thing he loves and the duty he owes to his father and tradition.
With a new script by Michael Ross Albert and some great 1920s jazz tunes to piece it together, the newest incarnation of The Jazz Singer has lofty ambitions that it never quite achieves for a number of reasons.
Jack Robin, a.k.a. Jake Rabinowitz, has fled New York City and a father who wants him to follow in the family business as a cantor (a prayer leader in a synagogue). But Jack loves jazz, so when he gets a shot at Broadway, his return home means facing a long unresolved family conflict.
Patrick Cook, who plays the lead, has the pipes, both in range and richness, to carry off the role. His New York accent is pretty spot-on and he’s even a pretty good dancer. But there isn’t a whole lot that works after that.
A big part of the problem is the performance space, the improbably situated Greenwin theatre space within the Toronto Centre for the Arts, where the Star caught a preview show Sunday.
The theatre space doesn’t even have a proper curtain so scene changes are chunkily achieved in dim light with cast members sometimes pitching in to move and remove furniture and sets. It’s distracting. The set design itself is uninspired, a six-piece jazz ensemble (which is top-notch) situated atop a set of faux brick wallpaper with three red-curtained entrances. The stage itself is so small, the ensemble consists of only four dancers — two men and two women — who don’t always move in sync together.
Some of the supporting performances are serviceable, though not great, although Kaylee Harwood as love interest Mary Dale mostly redeems herself with a soaring rendition of “Stormy Weather.”
Theresa Tova is a convincing Jewish mother and although her voice is good, she occasionally struggles in the higher ranges.
Victor Young as Cantor Rabinowitz is simply too strident in a mostly thankless role. How much better it might have been to inject a hint of softness into such a hectoring performance. The costumes are well done, the songs sublime — Cook gives a particularly affecting performance of a traditional Jewish prayer — and there’s a couple of spirited tap dance numbers.
But the show lacks the polish it needs to make it a genuine crowd pleaser.