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Category: Music
Review: 'Songs of the South' a joyous celebration
Monday, February 02, 2009
By THOMAS B. HARRISON
Arts Editor
The stars fell on Alabama on Saturday night.
Rather, they descended and rose again, like the South itself, in an electrifying concert before a near-capacity Saenger
Theatre audience that could have stayed all night. Mobile Opera's "Songs of the South," a one-night-only event, put an
emphatic punctuation on January and officially signaled the start of a season of celebration here on the Gulf Coast.
The hits just kept a-comin' — jazz, blues, bluegrass, country, Celtic and spiritual. Those who endured the infuriating snarl
of downtown Mobile traffic certainly got their money's worth: more than three hours of music, minus a 25-minute
intermission, and more memorable images than a Crimson Tide highlight reel.
Credit Scott Wright for the clean, spare look of the concert, which put the focus on the music and the folks presenting it.
The lighting was just right.
Kudos to Hal France, interim artistic consultant for Mobile Opera, for pulling together an evening that included soloists
Paula Broadwater, Emily Pulley, Phillip Manuel and Timothy Noble; plus the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Opera
Chorus, Mobile's Singing Children, the Celtic ensemble Mithril, bluegrass quartet Delta Reign and the incomparable jazz
pianist Willis Delony.
The evening got under way a few minutes late with violinist Tom Morley (Mithril and Delta Reign) playing the
melancholy Aire from the film "Cold Mountain" and "Legends of the Fall" accompanied by France on piano. Morley's
intro set the tone for the remainder of an evening during which singers and musicians were at the top of their game.
Among the highlights of a long first half, Mobile's Singing Children delivered a spine-tingling rendition of "Motherless
Child," followed by Broadwater's poignant "Through the Eyes of A Child."
Morley returned with Mithril to delight the audience with a trio of Civil War jigs, which had toes tapping on two levels of
the old theater. The group closed its set with three reels that left the audience longing for more.
Delony emerged to perform a great old Johnny Mercer Tune, "I Thought About You," and remained to accompany Noble
on a terrific performance of "One for My Baby." Delony also stuck around to play for Phillip Manuel, a crowd favorite on
this night, who sang "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." We do now.
Texas native Pulley, who will return in March to sing "Susannah" for Mobile Opera, got to sing "Waltz Across Texas" for
the first time — and she led the audience in a clap-along for "Deep in the Heart of Texas." Not to be outdone, Broadwater
had a high old time with "Mobile," and she had plenty of backup.
The first half concluded with some authentic bluegrass from Delta Reign, highlighted by the voice of Benita Murphy and
the banjo of Pat Murphy. Both returned in the second half for a luminous and haunting "Wondrous Love."
After a lengthy intermission, Mobile Symphony took the stage for a jaunty "Saints Go Marchin' In," followed by a richly
textured Hoagie Carmichael number, "Skylark." Manuel returned for "Basin Street Blues," on which he delivered some
impressive scat-singer effects. The audience adored him.
Broadwater had an opportunity to channel Patsy Cline with the achingly beautiful "Sweet Dreams" and "Crazy," which
she performed flawlessly. Afterward, she smiled at the audience and deadpanned: "No pressure!" Of course not.
Such a concert demanded an impressive closing, and "Songs of the South" gave us an ending in three parts: a stirring
rendition of "American Anthem" featuring the Opera Chorus; the full company singing "Stars Fell On Alabama" — not a
dry eye in the place; and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The audience responded with a thunderous standing ovation.
For an encore, the company launched into Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," on which everyone sang and
clapped along — and no one remained seated.
Mobile Opera can be justifiably proud of Saturday's performance, which was by turns brilliant, inspired and great fun for
those who attended. "Songs of the South" was an historic moment for Mobile's performing arts, which for one evening
defied the doom-and-gloom economic news and packed the house for one of the most astonishing musical events in the
past decade.
©2009 Mobile
© 2009 al.com All Rights Reserved.
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