Before I begin writing this review, it would be best to acknowledge that I am not a fan of rock and roll musicals, so this DVD recording of the final performance of Smokey Joe's Cafe at the Virginia Theater might have gotten many more accurate raves from a more discerning reviewer.

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a tribute to the rock and roll songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller but unlike many other "tribute" musicals based on the songbook of a particular individual or group such as what have notably graced the West End in recent years (Buddy Holly's Buddy The Musical, Queen's We Will Rock You and Rod Steward's Tonight's The Night) and what seems increasingly to be the upcoming trend for Broadway over the next year (Elvis Presley's All Shook Up and The Beach Boy's Good Vibrations), this musical makes no attempt to string many songs into a coherent plot. The show plays out more like a musical revue of Leiber and Stoller's songs and this is indeed a breath of fresh air among all the recent West End and Broadway additions determined to prove (mostly unsuccessfuly) that there is a clever plot linking all the unrelated songs. With 2,036 performances, Smokey Joe's Cafe is Broadway's longest running musical revue.

Only the most basic of props (such as tables, chairs and a neon-lit backdrop in one scene) exist on stage and production-wise, this recording is slick and well-done. 13 cameras were used to record the production and this clearly shows on the final version with appropriate zoom-ins on the relevant props or personnel involved. However, the camera men seem to come from the same school of thought as those filming other stage musicals as the camera always zooms and pans out from the stage whenever a performer sings the final long note of a song. Someone also needed to remind the audience sitting near the front of the stage that their appreciation of the show undergoing recording would have been best expressed while seated. Unfortunately, nobody did and some wide shots of the proceedings on stage are abruptly interrupted by the front guy who suddenly decided at times to stand up and clap in the middle of a song.

 Over 40 songs are packed into this musical revue with familiar numbers like "Love Potion #9", "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog" making their appearances at different points. The biggest surprise for me would be the song "Neighborhood" which opens the show and this song is reprised at various points of the show. "Neighborhood" is a song I more readily associate with Vonda Shephard in Ally McBeal but the cast's beautiful rendition at the beginning of the show really blew me away. Seeing that so many of Leiber and Stoller's songs were squeezed into this revue, some songs like "Ruby Baby" sound distinctively average in nature. Others like "Teach Me How To Shimmy" just sound bad.  Fortunately, there are others that make up for these  poorer songs. "Dance With Me" is fun and comedic while the catchy "On Broadway" sees the leading actors dance out a nifty routine that elicits cheers from the fairly enthusiastic crowd. Even the pianist and other musicans get into the act when they sing and perform in "Stay A While". The dramatic numbers like "Spanish Harlem" about a man singing about an imaginary flamenco dancer and "I (Who Have Nothing)" are all placed towards the end and these songs provide the high points of the show for me.

Ken Ard does a fantastic job as the dancer in "Spanish Harlem". He dances with the sexy Brenda Braxton who also mesmerizes in her solo number "Don Juan". Frederick B. Owens provides the bass voice for most of the songs and Deb Lyons demonstrates the powerhouse singer that she is in virtually all her songs. Her pairing with Adrian Bailey in " Love Me / Don't" does not work so well, however, with her strong voice overpowering Bailey's subdued vocals on a number of occasions. Bailey has one of those clear male voices whereby every word he sings is so easy to make out. He impresses when he opens "Stand By Me". B. J. Crosby reminds me so much of the Killer Queen character in part because of her singing ability and because of her humor and the audience really takes to her. She even receives a rose from a member of the audience after her rendition of "Fools Fall In Love (Reprise)".

Victor Trent Cook possesses one of the most versatile voices among the cast and he puts on a very good Elvis Presley impersonation in "Treat Me Nice". The remaining two performers, Matt Bogart and DeLee Lively, are quite average compared to the rest of the cast. Bogart does his best in "Jailhouse Rock" but doesn't awe. Lively does a sweet rendition of "Falling" but everything comes undone when she "shimmies" with Bogart in "Teach Me How To Shimmy". DeLee Lively, Brenda Braxton and B. J. Crosby were nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical as was Victor Trent Cook for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in the 1995 Tony Awards. Unfortunately, all of them lost out to performers in more mainstream musicals like Showboat and Sunset Boulevard.

Fans of rock and roll music will enjoy Smokey Joe's Cafe but not everyone will take to this genre so easily. Perhaps that is why the only other contender for Best Musical in the 1995 Tony Awards, the more accessible Sunset Boulevard, eventually won over Smokey Joe's Cafe. Nonetheless, this is a celebration of the songs of Leiber and Stoller and celebrate their songs this recording definitely does.

 Reviewed on 13 February 2005