By Karen Wolitzer
There's no story, just nine very talented performers singing the very recognizable tunes of Lieber and Stoller. If you don't recognize those names, don't worry, you'll definitely know their songs.They wrote
Kansas City, Poison Ivy, On Broadway, Charlie Brown, Hound Dog, I'm a Woman, Love Potion #9, Jailhouse Rock, Stand By Me and many more very well-known hits, all of which are performed superbly in
Smokey Joe's Caf.Director/choreographer Vic DiMonda says that when choosing the actors for the play, he was looking for one thing...people who could sing!And he got them. Two of the cast members, Stephen Hines and Monica Mannarelli are from Broadhollow's original production. Six of the actors had eight days to learn the music and choreography...and one actress, Vasthy Mompoint, had just three days to learn her part, because she was asked to replace a cast member who was suddenly unavailable."They're all wonderful," says Vic. "This production is going to be even better than the original. The minute there's an audience responding, there's a feeling you get that feeds the performers and their energy goes up...then the audiences energy goes up...and the performers...it's out of this world. I can't wait for the audience to see it-the show is so much fun."The actors agree-fun is the one word that kept coming up over and over again. "I love
Smokey Joe's Caf," says adorable Jamaal Clark Turpin. "There are about 40 songs in the show and I think I'm in 25 of them." Jamaal always wanted to be an actor. "I did my first professional show when I was 15...
A Christmas Carol. It was the best experience of my life. "Two of my friends toured in
Smokey Joe's Caf and I kept hearing great stuff about it, so I rented the video of the original Broadway cast and I was blown away; I loved it. My favorite song ever is
Fools Fall In Love. It's written so intelligently. I wish I were a girl so I could sing it just once."Handsome Josh Moore sings
Ruby, Kansas City, Jailhouse Rock and
Shimmy. "I'm having fun,' he says with a smile. "It's a really cool show. I think it's fun for the audience, too. There are great harmonies and catchy tunes. My favorite is
Kansas City."You might recognize Stephen Hines, who sings
Spanish Harlem, Poison Ivy and
Loving You, from HBO's hit series
Oz. He played a corrections officer. "That was great. I'd spend the day beating the prisoners over the head," he says with a laugh.He's also appeared on
Sex and the City, lots of soap operas and was in BroadHollow's original production of
Smokey Joe's Caf. "This show is so much fun-that's why I wanted to do it again. Everybody's really nice and it's great music."Talented Steven Rich agrees. "Everyone's getting along great. We've rehearsed and rehearsed and we're ready to do it in front of an audience."Yes, they are. When Steven sings
Searchin' you've got to smile. His voice is incredible. "I've always loved to sing," he admits. "'I've been in
Smokey Joe's Caf before. I've done
Jeckyll and Hyde, Big River...lots of stuff...and I'm having a great time doing this!" Vasthy Mompoint, the girl who learned her part in three days, is so excited to be part of this production. "This is my first lead in a show...so, I'm nervous," she admits. But it's certainly not her first big production, "I danced with Michael Jackson at Madison Square Garden," she says proudly. "And I've done
Jesus Christ Superstar and
Annie Get Your Gun."In
Smokey Joe's Cafe, I sing all the sassy songs...I love
Don Juan-I have this feather boa and high heels..." Beautiful Kenna Morris is making her New York theater debut. "I'm from Kentucky," she says. "I almost didn't audition for this, because I was too nervous, but I did it and I was so excited when I got the part. I sing
Fools Fall In Love and I love that song...it's very personal for me...the whole fall in love with the guy you shouldn't. I think every girl does that.""This is so much fun,' enthuses ex-Banana Republic store manager Allen Christopher. "I've always wanted to be in
Smokey Joe's Caf. It's been on my dream list. This is my first principal role. I'm really excited to be working with these fabulous talents. Everyone brings something different to the table."If everyone's bringing something different, Monica Mannerelli is bringing a magnificent voice and a wonderful stage presence. "I sing Janis Jopliny songs," she says with a smile. "It's different for me because I usually sing classical musical theater stuff. Since I was in the original BroadHollow production, I only had to come to four rehearsals, which was nice. And I'm enjoying working with Elissa Goldstein, who I went to college with."Elissa's enjoying working with Monica, too. "We never got to work together before, so this is great." Elissa, the Shimmy girl, is having a lot of fun. "I always wanted to be an actress," she admits. "My dad is a musician and my mom used to sing, so I popped out this way. It's great to get up on stage, sing and dance and belt out a tune. I think the audience is going to love it."I know I did. And I agree with everyone else-if I had to choose one word to describe the show-it would be FUN!
