By Paul Horsley

Americans are surprisingly narrow-ranged in their cultural exposure these days, internet or no internet. For most people it’s either hip-hop or ballet but not both, hillbilly or Haydn, Disney or Dostoyevsky. But audience tastes weren’t always this balkanized: Quality Hill Playhouse’s current month-long production, “That’s Entertainment: The MGM Years,” reveals the extent to which movie audiences from 1929 until well into the ’60s—which, let’s face it, embraced pretty much all Americans—were exposed to an incredibly rich variety of musical styles, often things they might not necessarily have sought out. From classic Tin Pan Alley songs (Arlen, Kern, Berlin, the Gershwins) to novelty tunes (“Johnny One Note”), from hip-swinging Elvis songs to operetta (The Merry Widow), the music in these films created a kind of American lingua franca drawing from a dizzying range of styles. Hollywood was, not wittingly perhaps but certainly profitably, a major force of musical education of the era. Shortly afterward, the movies would abandon this milieu for drug-addled pop tunes and over-orchestrated Gustav Holst rip-offs.

QHP’s intimate atmosphere on January 21st featured producing artistic director J. Kent Barnhart on piano and vocals, singers Lauren Braton, Kathryn Long and Tim Scott, double bass whiz Brian Wilson and drummer Ken Remmert. The opening instrumental of the “Tara Theme” from Gone With the Wind and introductory songs from Girl Crazy, Anchors Aweigh and Easter Parade reminded us right off the bat just how all-encompassing MGM’s films were: Later we’d hear tunes from An American in Paris, Royal Wedding, Kiss Me, Kate! and several lesser films, not to mention the title tune from Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas and “Vilia’s Song” from Léhar’s The Merry Widow. Even if you never saw Elvis live or attended the opera, and even if you could never afford a Broadway show or the New York City Ballet, for a dime you could get a glimpse of all of these at MGM, which was one of the more musical of the big studios.

The singers sang solo or in pairs, and occasionally as a quartet, which quite frankly—a cappella and in such a smallish space—made for some pitch problems. The ever-versatile Lauren was best in sultry nightclub mode, with which she grabbed “I Fall in Love Too Easily” by the tail, singing it with earthy confidence and just the right balance of serious-and-light. She also brought off a good-natured Connie Francis “imitation” for “Who’s Sorry Now? (though she sounded a bit more like Linda Ronstadt).

Kathryn was pugnaciously playful in “You Took Advantage of Me,” donning the role of jilted lover with wit and “taking advantage” of helpless Brian Wilson by rubbing his bald pate for luck while both of his hands were occupied with a double-bass solo (after which he drew a laugh by singing back to her, right on cue, “You took advantage of me!”). But she stood out most in the torchy “Vilia’s Song,” where it was quickly obvious that Kathryn is really an opera singer at heart, and a splendid-voiced one at that.

Tim and Kent were a fine pair in “The Lady is a Tramp,” though one could have used more clarity of diction for these pricelessly sardonic lyrics. Tim was a good sport in madcaps moments such as that of “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’ ” and “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life” (with Kathryn chiming in cheerily). Brian and Ken both demonstrated utter mastery of the various styles in their occasional solo moments. Kent provided a good basso buffo for “I Got Rhythm” (around which the other three vocalists entwined their harmonies), and as always he livened things up with dry, comedic remarks between sets.

One of the delights of a show like this is that it gives you a chance to appreciate the quality of some songs you hadn’t thought much about (“Long Ago and Far Away,” “It’s Too Late Now,” “My Romance”). It also shines a light on some songs that are so bleh that you wonder why they’re still around. On the whole, though, “That’s Entertainment” provides a pleasant smorgasbord of the contribution of the American songbook and its progeny not just to movies but to all aspects of American musical life.

“That’s Entertainment: The MGM Years” runs at Quality Hill Playhouse downtown through February 15th. Call 816-421-1700 or go to the Playhouse’s beautifully redesigned website: qualityhillplayhouse.com.

To reach Paul Horsley send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net or find him on Facebook (paul.horsley.501).

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