Revue at Quality Hill Playhouse channels Fred Astaire, hits it out of the park

There’s nothing unusual about seeing thoughtful, classy revues at the Quality Hill Playhouse, but the current production celebrating music popularized by Fred Astaire is a cut above.

Simply put, “Cheek to Cheek: The Music of Fred Astaire” is impeccably performed, thanks to crack musicians and gifted singers who know how to act.

Executive director J. Kent Barnhart, the man at the piano and the show’s emcee, hit upon a unique concept for this production. After all, Fred Astaire was not a songwriter. But he was a skilled interpreter who imbued his singing, acting and dancing with tremendous charm.

After a certain point, some of the finest Broadway and movie songwriters — Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins — began writing specifically for Astaire. A significant number of classic tunes — “Cheek to Cheek,” “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Fascinating Rhythm” among them — were introduced to the public by the man we remember mainly as an exceptional dancer.

Barnhart has assembled his go-to rhythm section -- Brian Wilson on bass and Ken Remmert on drums -- and brings together an exceptional trio of singers. Cary Mock, a musical theater veteran, exhibits unforced vocal perfection and a relaxed stage presence; he even contributes a couple of bursts of modest tap dancing.

Stefanie Wienecke, making her Quality Hill debut, contributes visual glamor and a crystalline soprano. And Shelby Floyd, an earthy performer with a sometimes husky delivery, creates indelible memories with her soulful interpretations.

Highlights include Mock’s graceful performances of “Change Partners,” “Night and Day” and “One For My Baby,” which, Barnhart points out, was not written as the boozy lament Frank Sinatra made famous but as a light-hearted dancer’s reflection.

Wienecke delivers a stunning version of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and performs equally memorable renditions of “Dream Dancing” and “Funny Face.” Floyd is never better than in her nuanced, dramatic delivery of “Yesterdays,” and she contributes stand-out performances of “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free)” and “I Concentrate on You.”

Slickly performed duets are sprinkled throughout the two-act show — Wienecke and Barnhart, for example, team up on “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” early in Act 1 and Wienecke joins Floyd on “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” the penultimate number in Act 2.

The entire ensemble delivers crisp four-part harmonies on several tunes, including “Begin the Beguine,” “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” and the closer, “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

Remmert, as usual, makes expert drumming look effortless. And Wilson makes the most of two opportunities to solo, most memorably in “Something’s Gotta Give.”

The choreography by Brian McGinness shrewdly exploits the limited performance space on the little Quality Hill stage, usually settling for fluid movements as opposed to outright dancing.

Georgianna Londre Buchanan’s costumes are understated in Act 1 — simple black tux for Mock and elegant black gowns for the ladies — and flashy in Act 2 as she puts colorful, feathered gowns on Shelby and Wienecke and outfits Mock in the classic cutaway black coat with tails, white vest and, of course, a top hat.

The only flaw at the Thursday performance was a wireless microphone on one of the actors that cracked and popped at various times. All in all, however, this show is an impressive piece of work.

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Revue at Quality Hill Playhouse channels Fred Astaire, hits it out of the park."