By Bart Greenberg***Twenty years ago, writer-playwright Stephen Cole received an unlikely e-mail that led him on a wild trip to the Middle East to write a one-of-a-kind musical. It was a fascinating adventure that he has been riding on in various formats ever since. The newest of these was Camelton, a two-night show coupled with a book of the
same title from West Side Press. It was a fun, if slight, evening.
After a delayed start, the packed house was treated to a welcome by director Rick Pulos about the history of the play and the performance space, Polaris North Studio, including a plug for a donation. Following a very clever, if a bit overlong, bio-video of Cole, filled with clever animation, the star finally took the stage for an extended 40-minute comic monologue sprinkled with songs by himself and various lyricists.
Cole certainly brought a great deal of energy and sheer joy to the stage. He seemed to take great delight in detailing his adventures in show biz, navigating several shows in widely-spaced locales all at the same time. He demonstrated his skill as a “tummler” (as in the days of Catskill Mountain resorts), an entertainer with social and comedic ability, able to work the room, as in the style of a Cole influence, Danny Kaye. With that capacity, Cole made the audience laugh with some ancient Borscht Belt stories that he managed to make fresh—an enviable talent. There were also some fresh stories of working with Gavin MacLeo
d and Ruta Lee, and his lifelong friendship with the former. All of this material was generously illustrated with projections.
There were tales of the crazed details surrounding Aspire, the show he was commissioned to write for the Emir of Qatar, made very vivid and quite believable. His creation of the various characters involved brought them to life; and while there may have been a bit of embellishment along the way, Cole displayed enough photographic evidence to counter any speculation.
The star also used his very pleasing singing voice on a half dozen songs, including three by his collaborator on Aspire, David Krane. Of the three, “The Road to Qatar!” was the wackiest, “Aspire” was the intentionally tackiest, and “The Power of Yes” the most powerful as a traditional musical theater eleven-o’clock-hopeful number. Of the other three songs, “The Gospel Truth” (music by David Evans) served as a clever opening, if slightly reminiscent of the kick off of the 1962 musical, Little Me (Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh). The other two numbers, written with Claibe Richardson, were quite the cleverest of the evening: “Tummler’s Song” and “An Ode to Florida Jewish Audiences.” The start was slow, but ultimately, Camelton proved to be an entertainment moment in the theater.
