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Another trio of tenors charms
By JOHN FLEMING
© St. Petersburg Times, It's pledge time again on PBS -- isn't it always? -- and there's a new show intended to make viewers pick up the phone. Three tenors sing everything from La Donna e Mobile to America the Beautiful, Let the Good Times Roll to Were You There? Nah, not those tenors. This time it's three African-Americans -- Victor Trent Cook, Rodrick Dixon and Thomas Young -- taking a cue from those all-time top pledge pitchmen, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. It's tempting to say that at least all three of these tenors can sing, given Carreras' vocal problems in recent years, but that would miss the point. An atmosphere of bonhomie and hail-fellows-well-met was as important as the music to the original trio's success. Three Mo' Tenors in Concert scores high on that front, with lots of jovial stage shtick during the concert taped in June at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The broadcast also features that other, rather odd trademark of the PBS pledge-drive special: endless reaction shots of the demographically diverse audience. Who are those people? Dixon, Young and Cook are entertaining. Each boasts the eclectic resume that serious black singers tend to have because they don't enjoy the luxury of confining themselves to, say, the opera house, where colorblind casting is still not common. It's a point Dixon makes explicit in his stirring rendition of Make Them Hear You from Ragtime, in which he appeared on Broadway. Young, who has had roles written for him by modern opera composers John Adams, Anthony Davis and Tan Dun, does the honors with the obligatory Nessun Dorma. He also brings a witty scat style to that anthem of psychoanalysis, Twisted. Cook, a Tony Award nominee for his performance in Smokey Joe's Cafe, is the group's comedian, draped in a loud suit for his version of Cab Calloway's signature number, Minnie the Moocher. The highlight of the show is an infectious medley of Love Train, Oh Girl, Betcha' by Golly Wow and Midnight Train to Georgia, as the tenors make like the O'Jays, with some very cool choreography and lush harmonies. A gospel medley features the excellent Broadway Inspirational Voices. The concert runs about an hour, but it's divided into three segments to accommodate another hour's worth of pledge breaks. TV PREVIEWThree Mo' Tenors in Concert airs 8-10 tonight on WEDU-Ch. 3.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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