"Mrs. Porter and Mr. Parker" by Stage North at Open Book

Stage North returns, nearly a year and a half since their excellent production of the play Mauritius, with a new original musical revue all about two important artists of early 20th Century America - songwriter Cole Porter and poet/writer/critic Dorothy Parker, featuring the songs of the former and the poems and witticisms of the latter. In many ways they lived parallel lives, although they didn't seem to intersect much. Stage North's Artistic Director Peter Moore has imagined a conversation between them in some sort of afterlife where great artists go when they leave this world (sounds like a great place to spend eternity). It's funny and charming and a bit bittersweet; despite their upbeat work neither one lived a life without sorrow. And it's chock full of great songs from the American songbook, performed by six singers accompanied by a three-piece band in the intimate unamplified space at Open Book. Like in the opening song "Well, Did You Evah," it was utterly delightful to forget the awful headlines of the day for a couple hours and enjoy this swanky and entertaining party (continuing through March 29).

"The Soul of Gershwin: The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer" at Park Square Theatre

At Park Square Theatre, the soul of Gershwin is alive and well. Specifically, composer George Gershwin, who in his 38 short years was one of the most prolific, influential, and important American composers of the first half of the 20th Century. Joseph Vass's creation The Soul of Gershwin: The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer, which premiered at Park Square in 2011 and for which he won an Ivey Award, is history lesson, play, music theory dissertation, and fantastic concert all rolled into one. This is my first time seeing the show, although I did see the companion piece about George's lyricist brother Ira, the lovely (and awkwardly titled) Words By... Here in The Soul of Gershwin we learn about George's Jewish heritage and how he wove the melodies of the synagogue and the klezmer street musicians into his songs. It's a fascinating examination of how Gershwin's music, so much a part of our culture, came to be. And maybe we need to be reminded of George and Ira's story, the children of Jewish immigrants who became some of the most notable American artists, at this moment in time, when anti-semitism and other forms of bigotry seem to be on the rise. Maybe now is the perfect time to celebrate Jewish music and culture and what a huge influence it's had on shaping American as we know it.