Florida Studio Theatre's 'Feeling Good' cabaret croons with a smooth groove

“Feeling Good” is crooning its tune on FST’s cabaret stage. So, what the heck is crooning? Great question. Ahem …

Crooning emerged in the 1920s when those newfangled “microphones” let singers stop belting and get soft and smooth. Singers like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett perfected the style by the mid-20th century. Battalions of nightclub Pavarottis milked it for all it was worth by the century’s end. 

Survivors of the 1970s will remember Bill Murray’s louche lounge singer on “Saturday Night Live.” His character was smarmy, corny, sentimental, insincere and square. This show sings a different tune.

This revue is the brainchild of Richard and Rebecca Hopkins, with musical direction by Nathaniel Beliveau and arrangements by Jim Prosser, the show’s pianist. He’s accompanied by drummer Christian “CC” Allen. Outstanding musicianship, tight structure. 

But the trio of singers is the main attraction. Haley K. Clay, Andrew Leggieri and Russell Mernagh are old school, but not old hat. Neither are their songs. The selections range from the Rat Pack to Lady Gaga.

 “New York, New York” kicks off the first act. The tune sounds like a fossil from the Boss Tweed administration, but Ebb and Kander wrote it for Scorsese’s 1977 movie of the same name. “Me and Mrs. Jones” wistfully explores the anti-social contract of adultery. (This song had three fathers — Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert.) It was a monster hit for Billy Paul and subsequent cover singers. Van Morrison’s mesmerizing “Moondance” never gets old. 

Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen’s “That Old Black Magic” still casts a subtle spell. But it’s not all double entendre. Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” is a horny hoot with no hidden message — the title spells it out. Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight” could melt Medusa’s heart of stone. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's “Come Fly With Me” is a seductive dream of aerial escape — a relic from the era of luxurious air travel.

The first act’s pattern is crystal clear. No songs about rivers, political protest, talking to animals, or climbing mountains. Just love songs. (OK, “New York, New York” is about a city — but it’s also a love song.) These tunes are all basically love letters set to music.

The second act takes a different path — and hits the highway. Bobby Troup’s “Route 66” is a hip ode to hipsters on the Mother Road from Chicago to Los Angeles. Fred Fisher's “Chicago” is a paean to the gritty city by the lake. Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn’s “Style” digs the substance of cool. 

So far, so good. But the road ahead gets rough. Percy Mayfield’s “Hit the Road Jack” sends a mooching lover packing. George and Ira Gershwin’s “They Can’t Take that Away from Me” finds comfort in lost love’s memories. Sad. 

Further down the road, life takes a turn for the better. Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon’s “That’s Life” is a defiant refusal to give up when love dies and luck runs out. Michael Bublé’s “It’s a Beautiful Day” is a ray of sunshine. Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s titular “Feeling Good” sings the promise of Black liberation and a better day for all of us. “Fly Me to the Moon” equates love with space travel. The final frontier, baby.

Photo by Sorcha Augustine

FST Associate Producer Catherine Randazzo directs "Feeling Good" without leaving any fingerprints. The show demands this approach. You see the trio on stage, not the puppet master pulling their strings. You relate to the trio as a band, not three singing actors playing parts. Randazzo’s invisible direction makes the band feel real.

Hey, I’m not saying it’s a trio of holograms. Clay, Leggieri and Mernagh are as real as it gets. The FST newcomers share their journey to the Sarasota stage and their appreciation of the genre they're performing. They’re not doing imitations of Sinatra, Peggy Lee and the usual suspects. They’re just being themselves and having fun with male-female duets, male duets and solos. But they don’t always sound like crooners.

Back in the day, crooners had a smooth, gentle rhythm with no big surprises. This trio constantly surprises you. They keep mixing things up with sudden shifts in tempo and attitude. That’s not old school at all. So what?

Terms like “old” and “new” are so 20th century. “Timeless” is a far better word. The revue’s songs aren’t in chronological order. Meaning and mood define the tune selection, not the years the songs were written.

Old school or new, this talented trio sells you on the show’s timeless vibe. They’re all great singers with great chemistry. Randazzo outfits the men in tuxes and the woman in a spangly, sequined dress. (A little formal for the likes of 2025 Florida.) Such period cosplay reminds me of the holograms in the ruined Vegas nightclub of “Blade Runner: 2049.” Elvis sang; showgirls danced. To paraphrase Faulkner: The past isn’t dead. It’s entertainment.

This revue is insanely entertaining. And full of life.

You will be feeling good.