By Katie Scarvey
kscarvey@salisburypost.com
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. You might not have heard of those names, but you have almost certainly heard their music.
Songs like “Young Blood,” “Fools Fall in Love,” and “Yakety Yak” are surely seared into the brains of baby boomers everywhere.
And “Poison Ivy”? A highly infectious tune, no doubt.
How about “On Broadway,” made famous by George Benson? That syncopated opening bass line is unmistakable.
And does it get more classic than “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”? Those seem to call up the image of some dark-haired guy with swiveling hips, right?
You can hear them all ó and many more, running the gamut from rock to rhythm and blues ó at the Meroney Theatre when Piedmont Players Theatre stages “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” a musical revue celebrating the talented and prolific duo of Leiber and Stoller.
“Smokey Joe’s Cafe” made its theatrical debut in Los Angeles in 1994 and opened on Broadway a year later. It was nominated for seven Tony awards, and the soundtrack won a Grammy in 1995. The New York production closed in 2000 after 2,036 performances, making it the longest running musical revue in Broadway history.
Director Reid Leonard has cast nine people, which is exactly how many were in the Broadway production.
They include Michelle Fleshman-Cross, Alexis Greer, Gayla Luckey, Tara Van Geons, Terry Brockington, Tony Crawford, Tommie Estes, Bradley Padavick and Kevin Reese.
The singers will be accompanied by a five-piece orchestra: Virgie Taylor, the music director, on piano and synthesizer; Graham Carlton on guitar; Alex Council on bass; Mike Austin on drums and Reese Manceaux on saxophone.
“Smokey Joe’s Cafe” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. March 26-28 and April 1-4 and March 29 at 2:30 p.m.
The box office is open to members from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 19-20 and open to the public March 23 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
The box office will also be open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. March 24-27, March 30- April 1.
Tickets may also be purchased online through Carolina Tix.
For more information, go to www.piedmontplayers.com or call 704-633-5471.