By Marilyn Lester***A heck of a lot happened in 1941. This is a fact that came to Dawn Derow’s attention several years ago, and upon which she built the superlative cabaret show, My Ship: Songs from
1941. Since its debut in late 2017, the show has played a number of venues, got interrupted by a pandemic, and emerged as a new, hot-off-the-press CD from Zoho Music. In celebrating the alb
um and playing My Ship (courageously—we’re still in the grip of corona) at The Green Room 42, Derow again proved why the show earned the singer a 2018 MAC Award for “Best Female Vocalist” and BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Award nominations for “Best Show” and “Best Vocalist.”
This outing of My Ship continued with the foundational direction of Jeff Harnar, and the musical crew of music director, Ian Herman, with Tom Hubbard on bass and Daniel Glass on drums; this mini orchestra provided consistently exceptional backup throughout. The opener, Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train,” written for the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which became the band’s theme song in 1941, was a rousing and musically satisfying entree into the riches of My Ship. Later on in the show, Derow sang two more Ellington/Strayhorn numbers, from the groundbreaking all-Black revue mounted by the pair in 1941. This was Jump for Joy, which had a run at The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles and might well have hit Broadway, were it not for World War II. Derow delivered intensely emotive interpretations of two torchy tunes, “Just Squeeze 
Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me)” (lyric by Lee Gaines) and I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” (lyric by Paul Francis Webster) that would have any tormented lover reaching for a tissue.
Cleaving to the original and beautifully crafted narrative of My Ship, Derow jazzed up the production values with more zhuzh, including in her own costuming—a glamorous nightclub gown— and two backup dancers, Markelle Grutsch (also the choreographer) and Chloe LaFleur. The pair added to a medley of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (Don Raye, Hughie Prince), “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)” (Sam Stept, Lew Brown, Charles Tobias) and “The Hut Sut Song (A Swedish Serenade)” (Leo V. Killion, Ted McMichael, Jack Owens). But in as much as these tunes were a tribute to The Andrews Sisters, it would have added more juice to the presentation if the two dancers (who were quite excellent) were also backup singers. Grutsch and LaFleur, evoking the period in demeanor, also appeared for a fun, boozy and come hither “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (Harry Warren, Mack Gordon).
On stage in 1941 was the groundbreaking Broadway 
musical, Lady in the Dark, with a book by Moss Hart and music by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin. The theme centered around a successful female magazine editor’s psychoanalysis, in which she delves into her dreams and memories of an unhappy childhood. From that show, Derow sang a playfully droll “The Saga of Jenny” and the delightful, poignantly eponymous “My Ship.” The show also offered a full spectrum of emotion. Derow navigated her ship thrillingly and lovingly through humor, with a joyous tip of the Disney hat in “When I See an Elephant Fly” (Oliver Wallace, Ned Washington) from the animated film Dumbo, to pathos with the torch song, “Blues in the Night” (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer).
With 1941 being an exceptional year, it follows that My Ship was jam-packed with plenty of astounding musical numbers. And that it was, executed with confidence and authenticity. Derow’s regard for history and nostalgia reached deeply into My Ship with love and respect, down to the gloves she wore, a legacy from a grandmother. Her vocal attributes are driven by an instrument that’s clear, flexible and smooth. There’s also a praiseworthy range and capability in her talent. Her closer, attached to a heartfelt story of World War II love, the story of the Nobles, whose post-war marriage endured 
for decades, was “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” (Walter Kent/Nat Burton). Although Derow has become a mainstay of cabaret, her original training was in opera. Her operatic execution of the song left no doubt that had she decided to pursue a career in that realm, the opera world would have sat up and taken notice.
Derow’s encore was dedicated to the composers of 1941. It was a glorious big finish of “At Last” (Harry Warren, Mack Gordon). Although the first commercial recording featured vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday, it’s the 1960 Etta James version that’s become most memorable, and this is the evocative style that Derow invoked in her finale. Another dedication came to the late music director, Barry Levitt. It was Levitt with whom Derow was initially working and developing My Ship. Levitt collapsed and passed away the day that My Ship was originally scheduled to debut. Derow eventually soldiered on with the show, with Ian Herman playing Levitt’s arrangements. That performance of some years ago and this one celebrating the CD release of the show, are enduring testaments to the talents of all concerned, not the least of these being, of course, the diva at the center of My Ship, Dawn Derow.
For more about My Ship the CD, click here.
Photos by Stepehn Hanks
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