By Wayman Wong Asked what made Sinatra stand out, Pizzarelli says, "He had a sense of theatre about songs. It was the way he set up tunes, especially the saloon songs. I saw him in Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey in 1987 and he really got to me. It was 17,000 people, all that music and just him standing by himself. That night was unbelievable!"
Meantime, the 43-year-old jazz star swings back into action with his sensational trio Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at Birdland. Plus, he’s helping his wife work on a solo cabaret act. By the way, Molaskey has her own TV commercial, and the proud hubby boasts, "Jessie’s wonderful in it. She sings ‘Do You Know the Way to Use eBay?’ and she’s lifted up by John Selya [from Movin’ Out]. My wife says, ‘[Selya’s] fingerprints are on my rear.’" Within earshot, Molaskey wisecracks, "And I hope they never go away!"
For more info, visit www.johnpizzarelli.com and www.radiocity.com.
WELLY THE ‘WEDDING’ PLANNER
01 Oct 2003
At 16, Welly Yang’s first professional acting job was Ito, the Japanese houseboy in Mame, in which Miss Dennis crows, "Life is a banquet!" Nowadays, his life truly is a banquet: The Wedding Banquet. As the artistic director of Second Generation, which produces Asian American shows, Yang has turned Ang Lee’s 1993 movie into a new musical. The Village Theatre is presenting its U.S. premiere now through Oct. 26 in Issaquah, Wash., and Oct. 31-Nov. 16 in Everett, Wash.
The Wedding Banquet features book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Woody Pak, his collaborators on the 1999 Asian-American rock musical Making Tracks. Now directed by John Tillinger, this project began about five years ago. Yang, who was born in Brooklyn to Taiwanese parents, says, "I loved Ang Lee’s movie. It’s got conflict, humor and sex — everything we need in a great musical." But the 5-foot-8 producer realized that "we needed to open up the film and make the story sing. Now we have a gospel tune and a tai chi number, and the ending comes full circle. But we’ve stayed true to the spirit of the movie: A family is where love is."
Wai Tung isn’t the first gay character that Yang has played. He was a wonderful Whizzer if ever there was in the National Asian American Theatre Company’s 1998 revival of Falsettoland. Yang, who’s dating Morishita, his show’s lovely leading lady, says he believes in his musical’s message: "Whether you’re gay or straight, love is love."
In August, The Wedding Banquet made its world premiere in Lee’s homeland, Taiwan. Yang says, "You could hear the audience gasp when me and Tyley kissed." It then played Singapore. To avoid an R rating from local censors, the show ended with a baby christening, instead of the gay wedding it currently has, and deleted a romantic kiss between the male leads. "Even so, we were a hit," he says. "We sold 25,000 tickets in Singapore and another 10,000 in Taiwan." From there, it went to Washington, and now some producers are scouting it in hopes of bringing it to New York.
If his plate weren’t full enough, Yang leaves The Wedding Banquet on Oct. 16 (Michael K. Lee takes over the role) and returns to the Big Apple to do The Karaoke Show. Based on Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, it’s from the creators of The Donkey Show. It’ll run Saturdays at the Supper Club, starting Oct. 25. Yang says, "I play Anthony, this womanizer, and I rap to Nelly. It’s very funny." Plus, he’ll produce Second Generation’s Concert of Excellence on Dec. 1 at Lincoln Center, where 30 Broadway stars will honor Ismail Merchant, Jadin Wong and Lisa Ling.
Yang, 30, enjoys being an actor and an activist. When he was 20 and played Thuy, the villainous Viet in Miss Saigon, the understudy role of Chris, the leading Caucasian hero, opened up. He asked to audition for it, but the producers never saw him. "Everyone thought I was cuckoo. Now, wait a minute. Caucasians have played Asians for centuries. Suddenly, an Asian wants to play a white role, and I’m crazy? That’s why I founded Second Generation. For so long, our stories have been told from the Western point of view. Now it’s our turn to create roles that define Asian America."
For more info, visit www.2g.org.
ANOTHER WONDER FROM DOWN UNDER
Hugh Jackman isn’t the only awesome Aussie who’s just made his musical debut in New York. Now there’s Simon Gleeson. With his movie-star looks and rich, powerful pipes, the 26-year-old actor stole the show at Get Here, a Sept. 20 concert of Australian talent at the York Theatre. This pure and passionate tenor was simply exciting singing Sondheim’s "Marry Me a Little." In Australia, he just finished playing Sky in Mamma Mia!, but the sky’s the limit for a performer with his style and star quality. With any luck, Gleeson will be back in the Big Apple soon.
WHERE THE GUYS ARE
There’s so much to see in New York: Matt Bogart, one of Broadway’s best baritones, will share the stage with cabaret cutie KT Sullivan at The Siegels’ CD Picks of the Month concert on Oct. 5 at 7 PM at Dillon’s, 254 W. 54th St.; (212) 307-9797. The Civil War veteran will sing "Her Face" and "Being Alive" from his swell CD, "Simple Song," but Bogart hopes to include "Field of Angels," an exciting song from Camille Claudel, the new Nan Knighton-Frank Wildhorn musical. The show’s free with no cover or minimum — what a bargain!
Tom Postilio, one of the sterling young stars of Our Sinatra, will croon Ol’ Blue Eyes’ tunes, joined by a ten-piece orchestra, Oct. 3, 10 and 31 at the Rainbow Room at 30 Rockefeller Plaza; (212) 632-5100. Postilio says he once had a Frank encounter in 1991: "I was performing in the lounge of the Sands and Sinatra came by and said, "Kid — keep singin’ good songs, not the crap they call music today!"
Gregory Moore salutes Sinatra, as well as Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and many more in Croon, Oct. 2-Nov. 2 at the Firebird Café, 363 W. 46th St.; (212) 586-0244. The classically trained baritone will be joined by Lana Rein, the café’s popular parlor pianist. . . . Britain’s baby-faced Jamie Cullum, who’s been dubbed "a Sinatra in sneakers" and named the BBC’s "Best New Jazz Star," makes his New York debut now through Oct. 18 at the Algonquin, 59 W. 44th St.; (212) 840- 6800. . . . Steve Ross celebrates his love affair with My Manhattan Oct. 15-Jan. 3 at the Stanhope Park Hyatt, 995 Fifth Ave.; (212) 650-4737.
Finally, another terrific tradition of New York nightlife returns to Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St.: the Cabaret Convention (Oct. 20-26), which will include a cavalcade of crooners: from Tom Andersen and Brent Barrett to Billy Stritch and Tommy Tune. Visit www.mabelmercer.org or call (212) 997-6661.
Got comments or questions? E-mail me at waymanwong@hotmail.com.
Until next month, let’s hear it for the "boys"!
Wayman Wong edits entertainment for the New York Daily News. He has been a movie and theater critic for the San Francisco Examiner, a writer for The Sondheim Review and a Drama-Logue Award-winning playwright.
