Heigh-Ho, my happy rainbow tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW reviewer here. Put the silent T in a cabareT to bring you ALL the Tea!
Bobby was back underneath Monday Night – 54 Below is – for the 930 program of crazy songs from the reigning King of Latin Rhythms, Jaime Lozano in Jaime Lozano & MAURICIO MARTÍNEZ: HERMANOS Y FAMILIA. As you can read under this title, Lozano, who usually travels with a merry band of songbirds, this time shared the stage with only his compatriot, Mauricio Martinez, and just a little (2 numbers) with the sensational Shereen Pimentel ( Maria in West Side Story). Shereen would add the FAMILIA part of the title as the rest of the time was spent with the two HERMANOS (brothers), old friends who lived together almost as much as they played together. Both spoke of times when Martinez was part of the Lozano household, sharing the abode with the FABULOUS Florencia Cuenca, Jaime’s wife, and ultimately the couple’s baby boy who was present at night at what must have been MUCH after the bedtime. But hey, he’s a showbiz kid, so late nights are like breast milk to him, we’re sure. Playing for a grateful crowd who were there to hear Martinez’s THRILLING vocals and dance to Lozano’s driving beats, the program featured tracks from his latest album, SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT, interspersed with selections from the musicals Jaime has composed. Three numbers from his musical CHILDREN OF SALT, with lyrics by Lauren Epsenhart, stood out. The nostalgia song DYING IN THIS PLACE showed off MM’s dramatic and unstoppable range while the love song MORENA CARINO, sung with the luminous Pimentel, gave them both a chance to sing along and show off their singing skills. ‘actor.
This is where Bobby has to bring a drop or two to this rainbow review and do a little on-the-spot reporting adding a drop of criticism to this review. At some point during the evening, the ever charming Jaime shouted from the stage wondering if my boss was in the house to review the show: “Is Stephen Mosher there? Where is Stephen Mosher? Sheepishly (because Bobby usually keeps a much lower profile than that), we shouted, “Bobby’s here.” The Hermanos were very welcoming, and then Jaime spoke for a moment about Mosher’s intense feelings for cabaret singers performing using music
stand with paper or electronic sheet music – something Mauricio did all along. MM explained that he thinks singers are musicians and instrumentalists use their music, so a singer also gets a pass – that’s a (rather) fair point. Obviously none of these boys have read ALL of Bobby’s reviews (grrrrr) or they would have read yours really dragging singing actors who aren’t off the book. You see my lambs, that’s the essence of cabaret and that’s why there’s so much crossover here in New York, from the music scene to the nightclub. It’s the connection between the singer and the audience that conveys the show on a deeper level. Those of us who really consume the art of cabaret come to the club to do more than just listen, as one would if the program was a band/orchestra or even a formal recital. Anyway, it’s the acting with the singing that sells the songs, and Martinez, a guy from Broadway, is certainly a very good actor. And so, the little ding to Mauricio, whose mastery of his notes was so beautiful that it “almost” didn’t matter when the long-awaited connection with us in the house was sometimes broken when turning to read the music stand. What we don’t forgive him for, however, is during the Musical Theater Love Songs with Pimentel – MORENA CARINO and DJ CAN YOU HEAR, he turned his face away from his stage partner to read his lines. Sorry boys, this writer says no. You see dahlings, Marylin Maye, 94, never has more than a bulleted list to keep her on track and so she skewed the scoring curve for everyone.
None of this is to say that the show, the music and Mauricio himself weren’t great to experience, in fact, quite the contrary as there was magic in the sounds and personalities on stage at 54 Pimentel was funny, pretty and fun, then WHAMMO – that voice. Mauricio was handsome, charming, funny and serious, and then WHAMMO too. Towards the end of the program came the incredibly moving NOTHING IS BROKEN, a song by Lozano with lyrics by his dear friend Marina Pires, which they wrote as a tribute to MM on the heels of his FOURTH cancer diagnosis. This incredible story of a FAMILIA coming together through the gift of song (on a zoom call) has given us all that connection truckloads have been looking for and frankly, Bobby now has to write – All Is Forgiven. And for this moment as much as any of the beautiful moments we had at Jaime Lozano & MAURICIO MARTÍNEZ: HERMANOS Y FAMILIA, we have to give this one a huge…
4 out of 5 rainbows
What If Latin Rhythms Are Your Jam my Lambs – Click & Pick Up Jaime Lozano: SONGS OF AN IMMIGRANT on iTunes
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Tweets from Mauricio on Twitter: HERE
See his InstaPictograms: HERE
And follow you on Ye Olde FaceBooke: HERE
Shereen keeps her instas: HERE
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All photos by Yours Truly, Bobby Patrick
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