JELLY’S LAST JAM JAZZES IT UP

Review by Celia Ipiotis

Energy ricocheted throughout City Center when Encore’s! Jelly’s Last Jam scored ovation after ovation. Athletically directed by Robert O’Hara, the action was joined to a cracker-jack jazz orchestra led by guest musical director Jason Michael Webb. Two choreographers steeped in tap and club dances of the 1920’s-30’s, Edgar Godineaux and Dormeshia, turned up the volume under a seamlessly cast musical. 

Immediately commanding his tap space, Alaman Diadhiou, Young Jelly, hungrily snapped up the spotlight showing off his thuds and side of shoe taps, referencing the style of Savion Glover (the original Young Jelly in 1992).

Full voiced and captivating, Nicholas Christopher embodying Jelly Roll Morton, watches his life unfold in the magical hands of the show-stopping Billy Porter as the gate-keeping Chimney Man.

Decked in black Gothic club attire, Porter’s silver glitter eyelids flashed side to side keeping Jelly on track while strutting his finest, and spraying the stage with his personal brand of star quality.

Proving that time improves great artists, Leslie Uggams (Gran Mimi) hurls her disappointment at the club-prowling Jelly in growls and groans shaken in a deep, round vibrato. 

But what makes the whole show pop, is the ability of the cast to share space and push each other to higher highs. Inside the jazz clubs, the ensemble devours space, flipping dancers over backs, dipping and spinning into open-leg and arm embraces while the tap routines by Dormeisha mixes up the rhythms, and makes those feet sing jazz.

Jelly’s pal, Jack the Bear is sympathetically portrayed by John Clay III, and Joaquina Kalukango and Tiffany Mann never take the brakes off their songs. And can’t forget The Hummies who comment on the action like an ancient Greek chorus. They also certify time does not diminish the musical theater chops of dancers and singers seen from the original production.

Written by George Wolf, the script is studded with the verbal vernacular of the era and includes offensive epithets that although, jarring, contribute to the musical’s authenticity. 

With lyrics by Susan Birkenhead set to music by the unbeatable Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly’s Last Jam shouts its enduring theatrical appeal.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis