Freezing ‘COLE!’

American Repertory’s ‘When It’s Hot’ is so not

REVIEW. The American Repertory Theatre has assembled its finest acting talent for their musical review “When It’s Hot It’s COLE.” Unfortunately, they’re actors, not singers.

Bad notes abound as the quintet performs 30 Cole Porter songs in rapid succession, stopping only for a brief, but very welcome, intermission. With no patter, no logical order and no explanation of the program, the show feels (and sounds) like an amateur musical production in which the cast is told to sing every Porter song they’ve ever heard in just under two hours. And do so with a deer-in-the-head-lights look on your faces.

Sure, they can sort of carry a tune and they’re probably all fine shower singers. But if the A.R.T. wants to create some sizzling cabaret, there are a plethora of supremely talented singers and directors in that genre who could’ve delivered a Porter that would make audiences leap to their feet begging for more.

Karen MacDonald is a wonderfully gifted actress who could turn a reading of the comic strips into compelling theater. But singing “Night and Day” and “Miss Otis Regrets” in front of an audience who’ve all heard the Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald recordings just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Except for a delightful turn at the piano accompanying himself for “All of You,” Will LeBow probably struggles the most with Porter’s material, falling flat in all the wrong places.
Remo Airaldi’s comic delivery of “Tale of the Oyster” is certainly among the show’s most enjoyable moments though hardly music to anyone’s ears.

Only Thomas Derrah comes close to hitting most of the right notes though at times he’s eerily reminiscent of a cheesy lounge act complete with bad dance moves and jazz hands.

A.R.T./MXAT Institute grad Angela Nahigian rounds out the troupe with shrill vocals and stiff stage presence that belie her training and resume.

A reference to Ivanka Trump in the show’s encore makes it clear that the A.R.T. has no idea what they’re trying to do with this “cabaret.” One thing is certain, however. If you want to do a musical, it’s a better idea to get singers who can sort of act than to get actors who can sort of sing.

‘When It’s Hot It’s COLE!’
Through July 27
Zero Arrow Theatre Club
Arrow St. and Mass. Ave., Cambridge
Red Line to Harvard
$25-$52, 617-547-8300
www.amrep.org