A moving tribute to the legendary Lionel Bart.
JW3’s Celebrating Lionel Bart is a feast for the ears and the soul. Personal stories from Bart’s friends feature alongside top West End talent performing twelve of his finest pieces. The informal layout of this performance perfectly suited this celebration of Bart and all that he contributed to music and the world.
Nigel Planer, Debbie Chazen, Jos Slovic, Michaela Stern, and Brady Isaacs Pierce brought this salute to Bart alive; each of the twelve songs featured was uniquely suited to display the best of Bart. The evening opened with ‘A Handful of Songs’, performed by Slovic at whom you couldn’t help but smile at as he eased his way through this pop number. Even more delightful was Slovic’s delivery of ‘Do You Mind’, a smooth jazz number perfectly suited to his voice. Also from Bart’s pop/rock records came ‘Living Doll’ which was a treat to hear sung by Planer who originally topped the charts with the song as part of The Young Ones alongside Cliff Richard. Its playful and familiar rhythm had the audience clapping and swaying along. The finest piece of the evening was Chazen’s ‘From Russia With Love’ of the Bond movie, whose performance was nothing short of iconic.
Selected from his Musical work, the evening included two songs apiece from Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be, Blitz, and the unproduced Next Year in Jerusalem, as well as three songs from Bart’s best known work, Oliver. Planer embodied Fagan in his gripping performance of ‘Reviewing the Situation’ from Oliver; his playful nature came through as he interacted with the audience and pianist. From the same musical came Stern’s closing solo, ‘As Long as He Needs Me’; a wonderfully expressive number, complimented by incredibly powerful vocals. Pierce brought her three songs to life with her whistle-clear tone, effortless control, and an innocence that is difficult to put into words. She delivered a faultless and stirring rendition of ‘Where Is Love’ from Oliver, and her performance of ‘Far Away’ from Blitz was breathtaking. Her last piece, ‘Where Do Little Birds Go’ from Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be, was sung just as Bart intended, sitting on a stool with her hands tucked under her legs; the earnest stillness and simplicity was mesmerizing.
Chazen’s performance of ‘So Tell Me’ from Blitz was among the best pieces of the evening. She is a delightfully engaging performer whose performance was truly musical theater at its finest. Her second song, ‘Next Year in Jerusalem’ from the unproduced musical of the same name, was a comforting, lullaby-like piece featuring beautiful piano and breathwork; unfortunately it was evident that a few of the notes were outside of Chazen’s vocal range. Also from Next Year in Jerusalem came Stern’s impressive rendition of ‘Nobody In Particular’. Stern is a vocal powerhouse with a voice like an old hollywood starlet, who was both emotive and amusing throughout each of her numbers. Stern and Slovic gave an enjoyable performance of ‘Fings Ain’t Wot They Used to Be’ from the musical of the same name; it was a jaunty and made all the more lovely by Slovic and Stern’s chemistry.
An evening full of incredible performances, JW3’s Celebrating Lionel Bart was most remarkable for the personal approach it took to this memorial. Featuring loving interviews from some of Bart’s closest friends and colleagues really drew the audience in. Leaving a smile on your face, it was an exceptional event and I look forward to the next installment in their celebration of Jewish composers.