A Cole Porter Review

Wow, this was disappointment on several levels. First of all, did you even have someone handling the sound board? Between the feedback and the inability to hear most of the lyrics, it was inexcusable. As for the staging, well, you should have had an experienced cabaret director handling that. It was incredibly awkward and slowed the pace of the show. The happy exception was the choreography. Mr. Skinner and his fellow dancers were delightful and managed to use their limited space with great creativity. With regard to the singers, all I can say is the next time this show is done, you should have an Equity open call and use some kids that would be thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved in such a project. You could have one "name" performer and surround him/her with a cast that is eager to perform the material -- and could perform it a good deal better (sorry Ms. Gillette). I have to say, however, that I thought Catherine Russell was wonderful; she sounded great, and I could make out the lyrics whenever she sang. Also (if the show is done again), I think the series of more famous Porter songs that was presented in the middle of the performance should be shortened by half. They're are wonderful songs but they made the evening too long. Plus the point of the evening was to present the very early work of Cole Porter that had never been heard. I do want to praise Mr. Giordano and the musicians. It was a real treat to hear those original orchestrations -- and to hear them played so well. I kept thinking they deserved better in terms of who they were accompanying, save for Ms. Russell and the dancers. Sorry to be so harsh, but I would imagine I'm not the only one who has given you similar feedback.

Did anyone think to do a sound check before this show? Individually, the singing, the music and the dancing were excellent but rather than accompany the vocalists, the band overpowered them making Porter's presumably clever lyrics inaudible.

I am a huge Cole Porter fan, know his music, sing and play his music, and appreciate his brilliance and uniqueness. So when I found out that there was an undiscovered musical out there, it was as exciting as if the world had found a previously unknown Mozart sonata! Imagine my great disappointment to find that the newly discovered Cole Porter musical from his days in Paris took up only a small portion of the evening. The performers, pros and very good pros, were inadequately rehearsed so that, after they sang the first chorus of a tune, they stood around the stage doing nothing while the orchestra played its instrumental portion. We were treated to many old Porter standards (which never grow old), but that is not what we were there for. These standards provided filler to make up an expensive evening for audience members. And most disappointing, especially at Town Hall, was the awful acoustics. No matter where you were seated, the voices were garbled, the music indistinct. Bad. Bad.

Wonderful production....needed to be better miked...and who cut the air conditioning...house uncomfortable. Hope it comes to Bway or off for more performances.

This show featured Cole Porter music never heard before in the US, and opened in Paris ~ 86 years ago. I am a fan of the band, several of the singers, and of course Cole Porter. Witty, double-entendre lyrics that Porter is known for, were to be performed in NYC for the first time. Unfortunately, the band got louder every time the singers were singing. It was impossible to hear the lyrics. When Vince Giordano was singing, the brass section took a break. But when the featured singers sang, the music was overpowering. It was difficult to hear the tappers sometimes. The women were drowned out the most. I've been to Town Hall many times, usually for A Prairie Home Companion, and never had the difficulty discerning lyrics as I did for this show. My friends, who are more knowledgable about the workings of the theater, told me the sound man should have been in the audience and not just on stage.

Wonderful music, wonderful performers and band...too bad it was a once only performance

The sound was horrible. We could not hear any of the singers lyrics. The crazy thing was that no one said or did anything about it. Everybody just sat there. What a waste of cash!

When we saw this concert advertised, we jumped because we love Cole Porter's clever lyrics and fabulous melodies. Then we heard about the backstory - that this was a forgotten revue, only performed in Paris before Porter was well-known, that there were songs that were unknown in the Porter canon - and we could hardly contain our excitement. The performance lived up to all expectations. It felt like Paris 1928. The performers were great, singers, dancers and musicians, and very funny, too. Some of the songs in the show have never been heard again; others, like "Night and Day," went on to greater glory in subsequent musicals. It was an experience, and we went out of the theater glowing.

The recent discovery of Cole Porter's 1928 "The Ambassador Revue" is a treasure that must be shared with the world. The magnificent performance at Town Hall had only one problem: it only played for a single night. This gem deserves a good long run, one that is sure to be sold out all over the country and perhaps the world. But it was not only Cole Porter's music that made the evening so wonderful, it was also the excellent artists who performed the Revue. Most especially, the luminous, charming, witty and gorgeous Amy Burton, Ted Levy, and of course, the fabulous Vince Giordano and his legendary Nighthawks.

orchestra was too loud and tended to drown out the lyrics.

I was surprised to hear so many well-known songs, but both the old and new were wonderfully performed by the orchestra and the singers. There seemed to be a bit of a problem with the sound at the beginning (there was feedback) and it was hard to understand some of the lyrics. And yet somehow every word that Jason sang was clear as a bell, so the problem must have been partly the singer's technique. One can only hope that everything will be okay on the recording.

This was a fabulous evening. The dancers were better than superb, the music was terrific, the orchestra extremely talented and versatile and the singers excellent. I was disappointed in that there were no cd's to buy as some of the music was the type you want to hear over and over. I felt that the majority of the audience was well behaved but there are still some morons using their cellular devices to either record or text stuff. Some of the audience was also less than aware that you are suppossed to behave in shows. It could have easily run for two weeks and I felt that some of the "bugs" could have been prevented with a couple of more practice sessions but it still was wonderful. This is the type of event that Town Hall should ring more often and I for one would bring a lot of friends to hear this. I especailly liked no intermission.

Weak Cole Porter music performed poorly, everyone mugging. However there was some good dancing. Luckily it was one night only.

I enjoyed this performance very much.The orchestra is terrific and the singers were very good.The dancing was great!Very enjoyable evening! Loved having no intermission!

We loved this show. The performers were fantastic.