‘To Life 5’ Proves A Worthy Successor at the Willow Theatre

By Britin Haller

Just like “To Life,” the Fiddler on the Roof song that it’s named for, To Life 5 at the Willow Theatre is a celebration of the Jewish people. This fifth in the series that was originally produced and created by Hy Juter (Jupiter Theatre Company) in 2019 stands alone, while at the same time serving as a worthy successor to its predecessors, To Life 1, 2, 3, and 4.

As in the past, To Life 5: Jewish Broadway to Hollywood is directed, written and hosted by Shari Upbin, whose father wrote for Jack Benny, and who’s been performing professionally on stage since she was thirteen.

This time, Upbin focuses on composers from Hollywood and Broadway musicals, with tunes from the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Al Jolson, Cole Porter, Jerry Herman, Carole King, Bock & Harnick of course (wo wrote Fiddler on the Roof) and many others. According to Upbin, she chose the songs and arrangements, taking inspiration from singers such as Jennifer Hudson. More on this later.

All in all, there are close to thirty numbers seemingly strung together in no particular order. Not that we could determine anyway. The house lights go down, a spotlight goes on, and a tuxedoed gentleman takes his place on the bench of the impressive black grand piano. As he launches into the familiar strain of “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” he’s joined by the four entertainers who will separately, and together, take turns providing the evening’s entertainment.

When the first song ends, Upbin in a terrific blue-sequined gown sits in a comfortable chair stage left, welcomes us, and indicates that throughout the evening, she will have questions to test our knowledge of Jewish songwriters.

The set is simple with a table and chairs. Hanging posters recognize the Brill Building, where many great songs of the 50s and 60s originated, Annie, Cabaret, West Side Story, and The Jazz Singer.

As the resident To Life musical director and accompanying pianist, Elliot Weiss does just what he should. He thrills us with his amazing talents at the keyboard, while remaining nondescript. Weiss is a graduate of Juilliard with impressive credits including the Tony Awards and a Eugene O’Neill Award for Musical Theater.

Besides Upbin and Weiss, it’s not the first rodeo either for the cast members, each of whom has appeared in at least one other To Life production over the years.

Ladies first …Silver Palm and Carbonell-winner Shelley Keelor has a presence about her. She’s a gorgeous blonde with perfectly positioned hair and great make-up, a tight off-the-shoulders red dress over a perfect figure, and sex appeal aplenty, no more so than in Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move.” With the use of a stool, Keelor really gets into it, maybe even a little too much. We get it’s that kind of song, but toning the hip action down a notch, or two, would be best.

Jinon Deeb, the more subdued gorgeous brunette, studied voice at FAU and is a voice actor, so it’s no surprise she has a trained one. And is there anything she can’t do well? Her scatting during “I Got Rhythm” is lots of fun, and her “Someone To Watch Over Me” is pretty, and tugs at your heartstrings.

The two women excel in their happy medley of “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again,” where they show off brilliantly with their counterpoint singing. This is when two or more voices sing different melodies and lyrics that somehow manage to blend together in harmony. Trust us, it’s harder than it sounds.

Bruno Faria is no stranger to the stage having previously won a Silver Palm Award for “Best New Talent” and earning two Carbonell nominations. Faria does a respectful impersonation of Al Jolson, who was the first openly Jewish entertainer, in a medley complete with jazz hands, and Jolson’s signature move of dropping down on one knee with his palms outstretched. Thankfully, Faria left off the black face. With his falsetto and dazzling smile, Faria excels in “Maria” from West Side Story. There are times when Faria almost sounds like Robert Goulet.

Shane Tanner, a two-time Carbonell Award-winner, has a big voice, and he also sometimes sounds like Robert Goulet. Does everyone sound like Robert Goulet, or is it just us? Tanner knows how to amplify and lower his voice appropriately, and his emphasis, diction, and vibrato are impressive. He makes us feel the feels in “Tonight” from West Side Story.

Upbin herself even gives us one song, an ode to mothers called “My Yiddishe Momme,” made famous in 1925 by Sophie Tucker. It’s a crowd-pleaser.

In between songs, Upbin regales us with amusing stories and trivia about Jewish songwriters throughout American history, although the accuracy of some of the information is speculative at best. Despite Upbin saying it was so, we could find no confirmation Cole Porter was ever an Episcopalian minister. Singing in his church choir is the closest he ever got to that, and even that is unable to be documented, according to his hometown church in Peru, Indiana. In reality, Porter was about as far away from the church as one can get. He was known for his voracious sexual proclivities, including drug and alcohol-filled orgies at his lavish Parisian home, and strolling the streets dressed in military attire looking for male prostitutes and soldiers.

We’d like to give Upbin the benefit of the doubt, because maybe she was making a tongue in cheek reference that only someone already familiar with Porter’s life would understand, however according to a review from a previous To Life production, Upbin has presented inaccuracies before. So we wonder and are led to take her comments with a grain of salt.

Upbin also informs us that Tevya from Fiddler on the Roof is the most beloved character in musical theater history. A quick Google search doesn’t mention him in any top ten lists, although he does hit number thirteen in an article on the Broadwayworld.com website. Perhaps saying he’s the most beloved Jewish character in musical theater history would be more accurate.

Near the end, each of the four get one final chance alone to wow us, and fittingly, Upbin leaves the stage beforehand. After all, the focus here should be entirely on the singer who wants to show us what they’ve got.

The less dynamic of the group is Farni whose “Being Alive” is just not that interesting. There’s no wow factor. Perhaps switching the order with “Maria,” which comes much earlier in the show, would have been best.

Keelor’s big number “Maybe This Time” proves the impact of a key change while standing almost perfectly still. Key changes aren’t easy either, by the way. Understated, but very effective. Tanner has a lot of fun, and so do we, in “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.”

Deeb’s powerful torch rendition of “Tomorrow” from Annie should be playing on the radio because it’s that good. Upbin told Florida Theater on Stage that she modeled the arrangement off the Jennifer Hudson version. We call it the adult version of “Tomorrow,” and it’s easily the best of the bunch.

It’s clearly not a competition; they all enjoy their comradery.

To Life 5 is comfortable like an old shoe. Just ask some of the audience members, who when asked by Upbin if they’d seen any of the other To Life 5 shows, admitted to attending every single one.

To Life 5 is not perfect by any means. The choreography is almost nonexistent, and we could have done without the foursome’s foray into the audience twice with the house lights up. The song “America,” sung by Keelor and Deeb, is the weakest of the night. The ladies didn’t seem sure of themselves, and as a result weren’t having fun, and so we weren’t either.

But the harmonies are nice, particularly in “Stand By Me,” Elliot Weiss’s “The Old Land,” “Sunrise Sunset,” and the “Sabbath Prayer,” the latter two performed by the cast in Orthodox Jewish attire. Beautiful.

A cute unplanned moment occurred when Upbin asked the audience if we had seen the movie Wicked, and two little girls yelled out “Yeah!”

Props to Stage Manager Nicole Roach, who has been part of the To Life family since the original one in 2019. She gets an assist from Bryan Morris, who’s a first-timer.

Musical revues may not be your thing, and that’s ok, they’re not really this critic’s either, but we have to admit To Life 5 is a pleasant way to spend an evening. It didn’t hurt that we knew most of the words to most of the songs thanks to a mother who played many of these tunes on the piano, and taught them to her child at a young age. On the converse, our companion didn’t know most of the songs (shocking!) but enjoyed herself anyway.

In the end, what could be more fitting, especially in this day and age, than bringing it full-circle with the song Tevya sings in celebration of life (“To Life”) despite the fears of an uncertain future? To paraphrase a traditional Jewish saying, “Next year at the Willow?”

Tip: The theater was cold on the night we went which seems typical of the Willow. On our way out, we were thanked by another patron, who had gone to her car to get a jacket pre-show after she asked why we were armed with heavy coats.

Britin Haller is a mystery author and an editor for Turner Publishing. Her recent short story “So Many Shores in Crookland” can be read in the 150th issue of Black Cat Weekly. Britin’s latest edit, a cozy mystery novel called Dumpster Dying is by Michelle Bennington and available where books are sold. Find Britin across social media.

To Life 5 runs through February 2 at the Willow Theatre at the Sugar Sand Park Community Center, 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton, FL: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Limited tickets still available. Rated G for general audiences. Running time approx. 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets starting at $46 for a single show, $38 for a seasonal ticket. Call 561-347-3948, or visit myboca.us/2647/To-Life-5 online.