By Marilyn Lester***If you subscribe to the notion that “there are no accidents” then Scott Evan Davis clearly had a destiny: to become a writer of songs with pleasing melodies and deeply realized lyrics. At the piano, he music-directed seven terrific performers who readily proved, in Connection Unstable at the Triad Theater, that Davis is a talent of significance.
In between songs, Davis told mostly personal stories, one of which revealed that he had no aspirations of songwriting in his young life. He was bent on performing, and that he did, until an unexpected event lead to a turn in the road and a new career. While the majority of the tunes in this show explored the human condition, especially in what drives us, there were lighter moments too. For all the gravitas, Davis has a seriously devilish side—a side that uses sarcasm to get points across. He opened with such a tune, “Everyone Has a Vice,” noting his pandemic inspired rise to fame on Tik-Tok and Instagram with short segments of snarky wisdom.
What became clear as the evening progressed is that Davis is a magnificent storyteller. Whether stand-alone compositions or part of theater works, each creation is a story song. In a trifecta of numbers dealing with issues of import, three performers stood out particularly with interpretations that begged for tissues to be produced to wipe away tears. Klea Blackhurst, with superb control of her naturally powerful voice, sang “Save Me the Rose,” while calling upon his well-honed acting talents, an affecting Nicolas King offered “If We Say Goodbye,” another song about the imperfections of love.
Willy Falk (no stranger to this one—it’s beautifully sung on his CD, Mostly Love) offered a touching “Before I Forget,” addressing the heartbreak of dementia. Introducing this tune, Davis said, “Life is about connection—what happens when we can’t?” Earlier he alluded to the title of the show, Connection Unstable, a phrase that would pop up from time to time during his internet/digital forays. Also mightily evocative was Davis closing out the program with his latest work, a beautiful memory song, “Ghosts.”
Meghan Jenkins, a young actress and singer, who overcame childhood trauma of harassment and bullying through her art, offered three duets, with King, Blackhurst and Adam Rennie. “Silent Superhero,” with Rennie, dealing with speechlessness was both touching and powerful. A theater project that Davis is currently working on is Indigo, an “exploration of how one family attempts to break through autism’s challenging veil and in the process, learns how to listen to one another,” born of his work with autistic children at PS 94 Spectrum School in Lower Manhattan. From this musical Gaelen Gilliland delivered a powerful story song in “So Good,” while Darlesia Cearcy early on in the show sang the optimistic “Ready to Fly,” and with Rennie and the rest of the very able cast, contemplated what’s “Next” in the penultimate number of the set.
For those not familiar with Davis’ work, Connection Unstable offered a grand tutorial into a lot of talent, and the expectation of more delightful, meaningful, poignant, sometimes funny and always intelligent work from a composer-lyricist who answered when the Universe called.
