True to their show's wild and wacky roots, the cast of "Spamalot" created a highly entertaining late-night cabaret performance Thursday evening.
The post-show benefit at the CLO Cabaret, Downtown, raised $1,900 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Phyllis Newman Health Institute. Half of the money will support Pittsburgh-area programs.
Kevin Crewell and Uniontown native Mia Price got the evening off to a high-energy start hoofing and singing "Nowadays" and "Hot Honey Rag" from "Chicago."
Crewell also kept the show moving at a lively, irreverent and humorous pace as the evening's emcee.
Evening highlights included Timothy Connell's "Ahead of My Time," made even more amusing with ad-libbed lyrics when he briefly got off-track, Pia Glenn's "Is That All There Is?" and Bradley Dean singing his self-written song "Big Cobb Queen."
-- Alice T. Carter
Craig Davis
Pianist Craig Davis and a cadre of area stars put together one of the most exciting nights in jazz in the past year Sunday at the Cabaret in Theater Square, Downtown.
The event was a celebration for Davis' album "Out of the Gate," and he burst loose in a show that took a dynamic look at jazz with great musicians. Davis established his excellence as a pianist in a solo version of "Willow Weep for Me," which he gave a George Gerswin-esque feel.
And although his playing and marvelous improvisation never fell into the background, two ensembles with him were filled with great performers, too. Drummer Roger Humphries, bassist Dwayne Dolphin, trumpeter Sean Jones and sax player Greg Lutz were great in a hard-bop-oriented section,
Jones, as usual, was stunningly good on tunes such as "Sister Sadie."
But bassist Paco Mahone and drummer Joe Saylor helped steer the music a different way in a Bill Evans-flavored stretch.
Davis is a player on his way.
-- Bob Karlovits
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