It’s a week away from Christmas Day. Oddly, during such a festive week there is a lack of entertainments available.
One reason, I suppose, is promoters think that people are busy with last minute shopping, wrapping gifts or making one last batch of cookies. Humbug. To quote Oscar Wilde, “I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do - the day after.”
So based on that philosophy, even if you haven’t yet wrapped or baked you can still attend “The Queens Cartoonists’ Holiday Hurrah: Yule Love It” at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs this Thursday, December 22.
“The Queens Cartoonists’ Holiday Hurrah” is a difficult show to slot. It sounds like a group of musicians drawing cartoons. But the founder of the show insists it’s a night of high-quality music and comedy.
In a recent telephone interview with the creator of the show, Joel Pierson, he understood my having a lack of clarity about the work. Indeed, he says that the group’s biggest issue is defining a show that is constructed to be difficult to explain.
He recalls telling his agent who years ago offered him a holiday gig, “I’m not that guy. I can’t see myself singing “Frosty the Snowman” every night.” The more he thought about it, he realized he could be that guy - provided he could sing the songs his way. His way was to be funny and original without being disdainful of the music.
He had for years made an adequate living playing piano and performing with jazz groups, mostly in the New York City area. Modestly he says, it’s ‘I’m competent, but if I’m honest I have to admit if I step out my apartment door, I will immediately see four people who play jazz piano better than I do.”
Pierson says he did some soul searching and realized that composing and arranging are his super powers. Once he understood his skill set it helped him to make the decision to do something that played to his strength rather than conform.
Realizing that there isn’t anyone who doesn’t love cartoons, he decided to meld his love of jazz to make watching cartoons even more fun.
In 2015, “The Queens Cartoonists” was born with Pierson the artistic and music director on the piano. By the way, the name comes from the fact that all six musicians and the female vocalist all have apartments in Queens, New York City.
Pierson is actually the creative force behind the group. It’s his concept, his arrangements and he selects the cartoon films. His offbeat manner, along with his desire to make the traditional respectfully funny is the heartbeat of Queens Cartoonists.
The show, in essence, is simplicity itself. The musicians are on stage as cartoons are shown behind them. They recreate the music that accompanied the original versions, except they are now jazzier versions and even a few original numbers. The band also provided the sound effects and he admits some Spike Jones music is heard during the performance.
Pierson says the concept was immediately successful. The audience loved seeing the musicians coordinate with the comic projections, but he knew they had to be engaged even more.
This compounded the danger of too much silly hurting the charm of the experience. Pierson and his musicians love the jazz idiom and no one wanted to disrespect the music with broad slapstick behavior on stage.
Pierson insists he solved the problem but didn’t want to discuss the details of the humor. He firmly believes a main ingredient of the show’s success is the unexpected.
He did give a hint telling how, in discussions over a couple of beers, band members often reveal an unusual skill. “Usually it works its way into the show,” he says. When asked if that meant juggling or stilt walking, he replied, “Anything is possible”.
It’s his theory that the self-invented comedy helps the performers stay fresh by enjoying themselves on stage. He says, “If we’re having fun, the audience is having fun.” Then he adds, “Believe me - we are having fun.”
“The Queens Cartoonists Holiday Hurrah: Yule Love It” plays Universal Hall in Saratoga Springs 7:30 p.m. Thursday December 22. For tickets and information go to universalpreservationhall.org or call 518-346-6204.
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
