He who captured love, sex, and loss: a tribute to Cole Porter and his works of a lifetime

On September 17, I witnessed quite the spectacle of Cole Porter music by the ever talented Margaret Hanegraaf and Vincent Trovato. These two performers and friends presented some of Cole Porter’s greatest hits in a timeline from 1919 to closer to the end of his life in 1952. Each piece was given a brief history about what may have been Cole Porter’s inspiration or reasons behind said composition. We were also given further background about the time period during which the piece came out and how the audience of the time may have responded to it.

This continued as we went from the daring 20s to the tragic 30s, and then slowly rose back up throughout the 40s and 50s, all while experiencing the transformation of the “Cole Porter Sound.” Now, allow me to attempt to recreate this special night for you; let yourself be carried through time, going “sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways...and squareways, and front ways, and any other ways that you can think of ” (as said by Gene Wilder in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”). Permit your mind to breathe in and exhale, metaphorically, for the journey through time and art.

The performance began with “Too Darn Hot” from Kiss Me Kate. The production came out in 1948 and is still considered one of his masterpieces. The piece itself is a fun jazz tribute about expressing one’s desire and frustrations in a rhythmic explosion of sound and constant pulse. Watching Margaret Hanegraaf, Gabrielle Hondorp, Gabriella Fischetti, Dempsey Schott, Kelly Shannon, Allison McLoughlin, and Glenna Jones, their interpretation was quite a spectacle as it presented a version more in the form of a ballad, with explicit emphasis on the voice rather than the dancing, which is how it is in the film version when performed by Ann Miller. Being much slower in tempo, the piece focused more on harmonies between the young performers and the complicated rhythms in the composition were all handled by the piano accompaniment.

Next, I want to focus on the rendition of “Love for Sale” from The New Yorkers, written in 1930. Originally, the piece was performed by the ever talented Katherine Crawford, however, due to it being the 30s, it was considered unacceptable for a white woman to be singing songs about prostitution. The piece was banned and Porter was forced to screen the lyrics and have a black woman sing it instead; no one complained. The piece has survived and is still loved, however, that bleak moment will remain in history just as slavery has. Love is described as “Old love, new love, Every love but true love, love for sale” through the poetic words. Personally, I fell completely in love with this song’s complex harmonies, contrasting rhythms, and heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics. The piece expresses both the passion of first love and the tragedy of love lost—above all, the lyrics in this particular showing demonstrates an outstanding spectacle of irony. As for the performance itself, I felt the performers expressed themselves very well, particularly in the chilling moments when the singers would crescendo in a descending three-note slope. Gabriella Fischetti, Kelly Shannon, Dempsey Schott, and Margaret Hanegraaf—I applaud you all for your performances.

The song “Night and Day” from Gay Divorce (written in 1932) is a love song from the lyric point of view. When combined with the difficult leaps in registers as well as the high high notes that the singer is required to hit, it becomes a very difficult vocal piece. Therefore, I must commend Kelly Shannon for her interpretation of the Cole Porter art piece. She expressed the emotion and character of the piece very well, and even when jumping from the low to the high registers she remained light and wistful as her character portrayed originally.

The last song I wish to discuss is Porter’s “I Love Paris” from Can-Can. Written in 1952, both the piece and the show were big hits with the populace. Before I continue, I would like to refer to Cole Porter’s general music genre, specifically his reference to Jewish-style music. What is Jewish music you ask? Specifically what I refer to is music with consistent harmonic and melodic progressions that were and are common in Middle-Eastern music. In particular, “I Love Paris” demonstrates various dance-like rhythms that reflect Mediterranean culture as well as consistent emphasis on the downbeat for dance purposes. However, the piece does vary from the low, earthy tunes that reflect Jewish hymns to a light, powerful and very Broadway-like style. If you listen to Patti LuPone’s version there are even more influences as instruments other than piano are used to express and emphasize certain key moments of Jewish tunes. As for the performance, I felt Christine Cimpian expressed the song’s passion and purpose brilliantly. She successfully jumped from the light and bright tones in the chorus, to the low and darker tones to effectively express the Jewish musical expressions. She also demonstrated the passion the character is supposed to feel perfectly; I felt energized watching her.

Though I did not address all the songs presented in the production, I was very impressed with the show as a whole. I felt they truly created a beautiful tribute to a most brilliant composer.

As for the songs I did not mention, I encourage you to look them up (whether you have heard them or not). They are great songs meant for listening, observing, dancing to, and singing to.

Congratulations to the performers for a job well done: Reed Schmidt, Gabrielle Hondorp, Gabriella Fischetti, Dempsey Schott, Kelly Shannon, Allison McLoughlin, Glenna Jones, Margaret Hanegraaf, Haley Parker, Christine Cimpian, and Vincent Trovato. A job well done to all of you! Thank you for sharing such a glorious salute to the man who captured love, sex, and loss in the old-as-time language that is music.