This has certainly been the year of plays that were really revues or concerts. We've seen Always...Patsy Cline, My Way - Frank Sinatra, Our Story - Our Songs; The Shelly Hart Breneman & Shauna Hart Ostrom Story, and now, Ella, starring the fantabulous Tina Fabrique. Ella is staged as a concert; it is a concert. The patter between songs is Ella Fitzgerald's life story.
This could easily be an Ella Fitzgerald concert, as Fabrique could almost pass for the icon. Her voice is similar, and her song styling is perfect. Ella; however, is much more than a great concert. We are allowed to get up-close and personal with the star. We are given insights into her life, both the happy and the sad.
Ella's interaction with her manager, Norman (John Rosen), shows the importance of a manager in the hectic world of music. Ella's constant tours in Europe, often lasting six months, created havoc on any relationship she had, be it boyfriend, husband, or adopted son.
The program notes that the combo members, except for the bass player, ae all members of the Actor's Equity, the actors' union. This is rare. They are scripted and interact regularly with Ella between songs. George Caldwell, the group leader and pianist, acts as her mentor in the early years. The drummers, Frank Derrick and Rodney Harper, have a few things to say. Brian Sledge, on trumpet, shines both on horn and acting.
Song after song brings back memories. "How High The Moon," "The Nearness of You," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "Night and Day," "That Old Black Magic," . . . this list just goes on and on. Ella's duet with Sledge, doing a Satchmo take-off on "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" should be the new version of KPBS-FM's "A Way With Words." Sledge also offers other excellent characterizations.
Michael Schweikardt's multi-level set design not only allows a variety of settings for Fabrique but gives a featured position to each of the combo members. Kudos go to lighting designer John Lasiter. Every design, from a simple solo spot to many color-washes on the stage and even a mirrored-ball effect, gives the production an immense variety.
