Broadway World
THE MIDNIGHT COMPANY'S FINAL DRESS AT GREENFINCH DIVE BAR AND THEATER IS A FUN DIVERSION WITH SOME MEMORABLE CHART-TOPPING HITS
by James Lindhorst / October 12, 2024
“Goody Goody!” Kelly Howe is behind the microphone again in Midnight Company’s scripted cabaret production of FINAL DRESS. Written by Joe Hanrahan, FINAL DRESS is a new collaboration between Howe, pianist/comedian Paul Cereghino, and Hanrahan.
In FINAL DRESS, Betty (Kelly Howe) is rehearsing for a new cabaret performance with her new music director Jimmy (Paul Cereghino) when she is interrupted, mid-song, but an unexpected visitor (Joe Hanrahan.) It seems Betty has a past and this unknown henchman is here to collect. Betty’s ex, Frankie, has sent the visitor to settle his debt. Will Betty’s talent save her?
This is the third cabaret collaboration between Hanrahan and Howe. In addition to the Frankie Lymon hit “Goody Goody,” Howe takes on a dozen chart-topping hits from the past seven decades, including a plot-advancing version of Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited,” and Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.” Howe continues to show in her cabaret performances that she has the vocal chops to take on many different genres of music, including pop, rock, opera, musical theater, and Latin/mariachi.
This is the first time Howe has been paired with the handsome, charming, and self-effacing Cereghino as music director and pianist. Cereghino is strong on the keys, but he really captivated the room singing with Howe on the Barbra Streisand/Barry Gibb hit “Guilty,” and the delightful “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors. It was quite a tempting preview for a future production with Howe as Audrey and Cereghino as Seymour.
Cereghino and Howe showed strong chemistry as the new business partners. Their conversations showed genuine authenticity. Cereghino is an experienced stand-up comedian who garnered laughs with snappy one-liners and improvisation. He and Howe make an entertaining team.
Hanrahan was a looming presence as the unknown visitor who induces anxiety for the rehearsing performers. He is becoming more comfortable behind the microphone in the cabaret setting, delivering a talky rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic “One for My Baby (and One More For the Road.)” It is obvious that Hanrahan enjoys putting his inner crooner on display.
FINAL DRESS is another of Midnight Company’s scripted cabaret shows that features some memorable songs for people of all ages. It’s comes recommended solely for the chemistry between Howe and Cereghino.
Ladue News
TAKING THE SHOW ON THE LAM MAY BE DANGEROUS IN THE MIDNIGHT COMPANY’S ‘FINAL DRESS’
by Mark Bretz /
October 17, 2024
Story: Betty and Jimmy are rehearsing their latest musical performance in a tiny, secluded room. They’ve been friends for a while, and singer Betty is totally at ease with her accompanying pianist while preparing her musical numbers. Their rehearsal is interrupted when a stranger casually strolls into the room. The interloper is wearing a suit, a hat and sunglasses, adding to his mystique. He helps himself to a nearby chair and waves to Betty.
It seems that Betty, or ‘Gayla’ as the man who calls himself ‘Harvey’ informs her, left behind some none-too-happy collectors. They don’t cotton to people welching on their debts, no matter how unfair those debts may be. Fortunately for Betty, he tells her, the syndicate has dispatched its attorney (Harvey) to ‘flyover country’ to track her down and return to New York with Betty, the money or both. Harvey says he’s good at that.
But, hey, that’s neither here nor there at the moment. Harvey settles in and says that right now he wants to hear the numbers being rehearsed by Betty and Jimmy. He knows that Betty has a memorable voice, and he prefers to just kick back, close his eyes and listen to her shape a song or three, for old times’ sake if nothing more.
Jimmy is uneasy with this intrusion and even more unsettled that ‘Betty’ apparently knows what Harvey is referencing. So, what’s the story here? Will Betty be ‘singing for her supper,’ or worse yet, for her very life? This ‘final dress’ is looking more and more ominous to its performers.
Highlights: Joe Hanrahan, founder and artistic director of The Midnight Company, accomplished songstress Kelly Howe and pianist/comedian Paul Cereghino join creative forces in Hanrahan’s latest ‘cabaret theatre’ effort. Under Hanrahan’s direction, it’s a breezy little show in which the thin story provides pleasant seeding for tunes, both familiar and different, warbled memorably by Howe in its one-act, 75-minute performance.
Other info: Last year, Hanrahan wrote, directed and performed along with Howe in “Just One Look,” a tribute to iconic singer Linda Ronstadt, in a piece termed “cabaret theatre” by Hanrahan. Howe portrayed Ronstadt and duly impressed sold-out audiences at numerous performances originally at The Blue Strawberry cabaret nightclub.
Since then, Hanrahan and Howe have taken their wildly popular show to other venues around town with equal success. In “Just One Look,” Howe’s formidable vocal range and powerful voice caress Ronstadt ballads while also belting out familiar, livelier rock numbers.
Hanrahan subsequently has churned out a plethora of his nifty little shows including “Movie Music,” “Jacey’s Jazz Joint” and “Professor Sunshine’s Traveling Post-Apocalyptic Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival.” The latter played at the intimate Greenfinch Theater and Dive, the venue for “Final Dress.”
Thanks to sound designer Michael Musgrave-Perkins, the audience is delighted with Howe’s easy way of shaping her signature style on such classic numbers as “Dixie Melody,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Goody Goody,” “Lucky Lips” and other tunes from the Great American Songbook.
Adding newer numbers from the last half-century, such as “It’s Too Late,” “Love Is Blind,” “Suddenly Seymour” and “Uninvited,” leaves no doubt that Howe can capably tell a musical story with contemporary tunes as well as the standards. Handsomely complemented with the sure and steady accompaniment from pianist Cereghino, those musical interludes are easy on the ears and a joy to behold.
Interestingly, playwright Hanrahan finds a clever way to integrate Cereghino’s comic talents into the show when the latter ad libs his way in humorous comments to the audience. As he had with “Professor Sunshine,” Hanrahan even works his own musical effort into the production on “The Best is Yet to Come,” which showcases his courage if not a wide musical range in his voice.
Hanrahan’s direction is easygoing to match the relaxed nature of this piece of ‘cabaret theatre,’ and everyone seems to be having a good time including the audience. Playwright Hanrahan knows how to accentuate the musical abilities of his performers, inserting his story in between songs where traditional cabaret performers banter with the venue crowds.
“Final Dress” could possibly show up again in clubs around town where cabaret theatre can thrive such as at the Greenfinch. When it does, be sure to check it out. It’s easy to envision Frank Sinatra, the master song stylist himself, plying his vocal trade in the prolific Hanrahan’s agreeable art form.
Snoop's Theatre Thoughts
by Michelle Kenyon ("Snoop") / October, 2024
Joe Hanrahan and The Midnight Company have continued in their new venture into cabaret-theatre hybrid shows, with their latest, Final Dress, striking just the right balance between those two art forms. Featuring Hanrahan and frequent headliner Kelly Howe, along with strong support from actor and musician Paul Cereghino, this show manages to tell a clear and coherent story while highlighting some (mostly) well-known songs from various eras and genres.
The unfortunate aspect of this production is that its run–at Greenfinch Theater & Dive earlier this month–was entirely too short. It could use a revival, however, since I think so far, this has been the company’s most successful effort at staging a show that has cabaret elements, but genuinely seems like a play. It’s not a super deep story, but it’s an engaging one, as singer Betty (Howe) and her collaborator/accompanist Jimmy (Cereghino) rehearse for Betty’s new show the following evening, and the two share a believable, friendly rapport with a credible sense of musicality that highlights strong vocals from Howe and strong playing and vocals form Cereghino. The two performers are soon surprised by Harvey (Hanrahan), who calls Betty by a different name and seems to know her from a previous time when she was a more active performer back East. His approach is somewhat laid-back, but mildly threatening all the same, and soon it seems like Betty is essentially singing for her life, although the tone of the show doesn’t quite get as ominous as Harvey seems to imply.
It’s an entertaining show, highlighting music from different times and styles, including songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, Amy Winehouse, Alanis Morrissette, and more. Howe’s voice is memorable and impressively versatile, and she has strong stage presence as well. Cereghino is affable and musically proficient as Jimmy, and Hanrahan has a slight air of menace as Harvey, but manages to be engaging as well, also performing a pleasant Jimmy Durante-like rendition of the classic “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”, which is perhaps best-known for Sinatra’s version.
The setting is intimate, with just the three players, a piano, microphones, and some chairs. There’s a little in the way of “stage business” and one costume change, but this is a story simply told, and well-sung and performed. Aside from one song which I found to be dated and awkward, the repertoire is memorable and works well with the story, although it could be beefed up a bit and the stakes raised somewhat, since the “threat” never seems all that serious. As Hanrahan and Howe have also done with their Linda Ronstadt tribute show Just One Look, I hope they find more times and places to perform this piece. It’s worth seeing by more than just a few patrons over a few days.
HEC Media
by Bob Wilcox / October, 2024
JA man, Jimmy, comes in, sets his music on the piano. and plays. A woman, Betty, comes in and sings with him. They’re rehearsing for a cabaret show the next night. Betty’s a little nervous, hasn’t done a show in a while. Jimmy helps her over it. They continue working.
An older man, Harvey, walks in, carrying a briefcase. He pulls a chair up next to the performers. He calls Betty “Gayla.” He used to hear her sing in a club in New Jersey. He’s a lawyer. He works for the people who own several clubs. She also worked for them as a singer. But she disappeared, leaving her contract unfinished. They want her back. Or money to pay off the contract. Some kind of satisfaction. She also was in a relationship with the son of one of the owners. She embarrassed him by leaving him, made him look bad, like a loser. He wants her back, too.
Harvey encourages Jimmy and Betty—or Gayla—to continue working. He likes her singing. He makes suggestions for songs. Especially Sinatra songs. Betty encourages him, calls him her producer. He eventually leaves, eager to get out of “flyover country.” So what will be report to the club owners who hired him to find Gayla? But he did find Betty. So?
Final Dress is a play by Joe Hanrahan. He likes plays that have a little mystery about them, an unexpected twist, with interesting dialogue along the way. He also directed the production and played Harvey very coolly and very cool.
Kelly Howe played Betty and sang. Paul Cereghino played Jimmy and the piano. The two gave us kind of a little cabaret show before Harvey arrived, and it was most enjoyable.
Bradley Rohlf handled tech for Final Dress.
That’s entertainment, real entertainment.
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