Photos by Magnus Stark
By Bill Hirschman
A lovely woman comes into a spare set with her partner, sits in a comfortable chair and lights a candle.
And then the magic happens.
Certainly, we all know that music itself is magical in its ability to reflect and excavate emotions.
But the magic of Both Sides Now: The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen is that of a time machine. It instantly regenerates feelings and visions a half-century old as if they are happening here for the first time.
To be fair, many people will go to this evening at GableStage erroneously expecting this to be one of those current flashy revues seemingly everywhere that deify Cher, Tina and a dozen others whose last names are not needed.
But while this evening created and performed by Danielle Wertz and Robbie Schaefer is also, indeed, a parade of catalogs, they dig far deeper into the lives of their listeners as well as the artists.
And played respectfully with a guitar and/or a piano, the original sound is recreated, but amplified with inventive rearrangements that inject a freshness that goes beyond the plastic imitations of those earlier mentioned shows.
Even better, the lyrics of these two poetic artists are delivered with an audible clarity that makes you realize you did not always know what they were when you first started absorbing them on AM radios and cheap record players.
Hopefully, anyone under the age of 50 will re-appreciate being re-exposed to their parents’ and grandparents’ tunes. But for those of us a generation older, this evening is a gift — recovering and re-covering the echoing sounds, the flashing images of a time past.
For those youngsters: Both were Canadian songwriters-singers who rose to prominence in the late 1960s and sustained through the early part of this century. Both evolved a folk-like but unique music into new areas, bringing their fans along with them. Among Mitchell’s best known works include “Both Sides Now” and “Big Yellow Taxi.” Cohen’s include “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah.” Those are only a few of the 16 songs interspersed with stories about the duo and these current performers.
Wertz, a UMC grad based in New York, has a voice both crystalline and soothing at the same time. Schaefer, who just became ordained as a rabbi this past week, wraps his baritone around music he clearly prizes.
In this justifiably advertised as an intimate cabaret, their voices swirl around and into each other with harmonies that add additional depth to the well-known melodies.
Among the gems are some high points including Schaefer’s cradling and stroking his guitar in “Suzanne” and the examination of mortality released in 1974 “Who By Fire,” echoing the tragedy of the Yom Kippur War.
Granted that on its face, such a revue is hardly in GableStage’s usual menu of satirical comedy and telling dramas. But Producing Artistic Director Bari Newport told her audience that she has a special affection for this music. And it resonates with the same depth that this theater is known for.
A hat tip to lighting designer Tony Galaska and sound engineer Hector Martinez for enhancing the evening.
By the way, do not leave before or during the justified standing ovation. There is a surprise in the mandatory post-applause number.
The music may be decades old but this program answers “It’s not dead yet.” More telling from the experience, the array of emotions and ethos that inspired it are not dead yet. They resonate in the audience, not just their memories but their spirits.
It mattered. It matters.
Both Sides Now: The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen plays GableStage through Jan. 5, including 2 p.m. Christmas Eve, and 7:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve, at 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables. Box office: boxoffice@gablestage.org or 305-445-1119.
