[NEohioPAL]Berko review: ELLA (Cleveland Play House)

[Roy Berko]

Enjoyable ‘ELLA,’ but without Ella

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

One of the problems in doing a show like ‘ELLA,’ which
is now on stage at the Cleveland Play House, is that
anyone who knows what Ella Fitzgerald looked like,
sounded like, and acted like, expects the actor
portraying the living legend to be that person.

Hal Holbrook is Mark Twain in his portrayal of the
great writer in ‘MARK TWAIN TONIGHT.’   Several years
ago, Wayne Turney appeared as Harry Truman in ‘GIVE
‘EM HELL HARRY,’ at Actors’ Summit.  He didn’t just
portray Truman, he was Truman.

Unfortunately, as good a singer and actress as Tina
Fabrique is, she does not personify Ella Fitzgerald. 
She doesn’t look like, have the mannerisms or the
voice of “The First Lady of Song.”  That’s not to say
she is bad, she is excellent.  She just isn’t Ella.

Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in
the United States for more than half a century. In her
lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40
million albums.   What made Ella great was the
wide-range of her voice, her accurate ability to give
meanings to the words she sang, and her amazing
ability to scat (sing meanings using sounds rather
than words).  Her voice was a musical instrument. 

Born in 1917, she was early orphaned.  She made her
first foray into entertainment in 1934 when she won an
amateur night contest at New York’s Apollo Theatre. 
Because of her unattractive looks she was denied the
promised follow-up paid performances, but through
sheer determination and a keen manager she rose to
fame.  By the 1990s, Ella had recorded over 200 albums
and by 1991 when she gave her final performance there,
she had performed 26 times at the famed Carnegie Hall.

Fitzgerald’s personal life was not happy.   Her
marriages didn’t last.  Her relationship with her son
(actually a child conceived by her sister and
brother-in-law who she adopted) was filled with angst.
  Poor health plagued her through much of her career. 
She experienced heart problems and as a result of
diabetes was forced to have both of her legs amputated
below the knees. She died on June 15, 1996.

‘ELLA,’ with book by Jeffrey Hatcher and conception by
Rob Ruggiero and Dyke Garrison, chronologically
follows part of the life of this great singer.  It
contains many of Ella’s hits including, “How High the
Moon,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” “You’ll Have to Swing
It (Mr. Pagannini),” “They Can’t Take That Away From
Me,” “Our Love is Here to Stay,” ”That Old Black
Magic” and her signature piece, “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.”

Though at times the dialogue gets a little sappy, it
bridges the songs together and generally tells Ella’s
story.

Ms. Fabrique is a fine singer in her own right.  She
grabs and holds an audience.  Her acting is also
excellent.  She is ably assisted by George Roth, as
Fitzgerald’s manager, Norman Granz.  The orchestra is
fantastic.  Brian Sledge is wonderful on the trumpet
and George Caldwell (piano/conductor), Rodney Harper
(drums) and Clifton Kellem (bass) are all fine
musicians.

Capsule judgement:  If you go to see ‘ELLA’ expecting
to see and hear a personification of Ella Fitzgerald
you’ll be disappointed.  Instead, go to hear Tina
Fabrique sing Ella’s songs and give yourself a taste
of the life of the queen of scat.  With that mindset,
you’ll enjoy yourself!

‘ELLA’ runs through April 21 at the Cleveland Play
House.  For tickets  call 216-795-7000 or go on-line
to www.clevelandplayhouse.com.   




Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


 
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