Ambassador of Love: Celebrating Pearl Bailey
Goodspeed by the River, East Haddam, Connecticut
Directed by T. Oliver Reid
“Two to Tango”
Like the song says, “it takes two…” and for this show to work it takes two pairs of two, not just one. There has to be someone who adores Pearl Bailey and Pearl Bailey herself, and there needs to be an interpreter of Bailey’s material and a second person to accompany her in just the right way. For Goodspeed’s simple but effective “Ambassador of Love: Celebrating Pearl Bailey,” both duos are on the small stage under a tent. Both love-fests center around a woman whose name has just become a byword: Rashidra Scott. Pearl Bailey was as much a personality as she was a singer and her unique styling of a song mattered as much as the song. She was also a mentor to many artists in a variety of fields. I suspect that if she met Ms. Scott she would have gladly mentored her, but there would really be no need, as Scott is her own woman, a consummate singer and reader of the songs she chooses to sing. In this case, all 21 of them have moved over from Pearly Mae to Rashidra without effort and to great effect.
Musical Director Michael O. Mitchell plays showbiz/jazz piano beautifully and he not only accompanies Scott but provides little verbal asides that put us, stylistically, into the 1950s. He makes us think of Fats Waller and other Black musicians of the period who couldn’t restrain themselves from involving their commentary with the vocalist’s refrains. His additions to the songs make them that much more special, especially when Scott is doing the same thing. Turning solo ballads, blues, and theater songs into conversations was a feature of Bailey’s work and this extra-special tribute to her performing experience makes this show a rare sort of adventure. I cannot think of anyone today who augments a song in this manner and it makes this nightclub turn into a mini-musical all its own.
Number six in her set is “It Takes Two to Tango,” a song that Pearl Bailey saw rise to number four on the pop music charts back in 1952. It was her second chart-buster, with her 1946 recording “Fifteen Years (and I’m Still Serving Time)” rising to number four on the R&B chart. Scott performs both songs to perfection in this show. She mixes these popular songs with songs from Bailey’s many Broadway shows (she appeared in eight shows), but none of her films (Bailey was in 11 of these).
Bailey was a star in theater, movies, television, clubs, and on recordings. Her stylings were imitated often, but no one could ever touch her insouciance. I must confess a connection: Pearlie Mae was a friend of my grandmother (I never learned exactly how) and when I took my grandmother to see her in “Hello, Dolly!” we went back to her dressing room afterward. She kept us with her for almost an hour, then signed a Dolly photo for my Gran and spelled her name wrong on it. My grandmother didn’t care. Bailey’s enthralling charm is easily seen in Ms. Scott’s performance, which is never an imitation of Bailey. Instead, she pays tribute to her life in music and to her personal achievements, of which there were many. She keeps away from Bailey’s politics and concentrates instead on her breakthrough personality.
Scott gives us an hour and a half that is both magical and musical. The show has a limited run, but gives you an unlimited amount of memories, old and new, and Rashidra Scott is as endearing as Bailey once was all those years ago.
“Ambassador of Love: Celebrating Pearl Bailey” continues through July 18 at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut. For information and tickets, call 860-873-8668 or visit the Goodspeed website.
