I Get a Kick Out of Cole (Porter)

Cole Porter's literate words are always entertaining, often naughty and sometimes downright wicked. Using satire, sarcasm, and double entendre, Porter poked fun at society, relationships, and life in general.

In an excellent two-hour set at 142 Throckmorton Theatre Friday night, singer Noah Griffin delved deeply into Porter's legendary songbook, thrilling a sold-out crowd and finishing with two sing-alongs with the house lights on.

As both composer and lyricist, the prolific Porter created hundreds of songs for the Great American Songbook, many about the ostensibly simple yet complex subject  of romantic love. The genius of Porter's Gilbert and Sullivan inspired verse, filled with internal rhyme, was his ability to express profound emotions in only one or two words.

In a cabaret setting at the Throckmorton, Griffin more than did justice to Porter's renowned work. Griffin was backed by a sensational jazz trio of pianist and arranger Larry Dunlap, bassist Harley White and Jeff Sanford, who effortlessly moved from saxophone to clarinet to flute throughout the set. 

Griffin showed himself to be a master of Porter's phrasing in the the opening tune, "Night and Day," while he flexed his acting chops in a rendition of "Miss Otis Regrets," in which a butler informs Miss Otis' lunch date that she can't make it (because she shot her lover last night). 

"Lyrics of the leisure class best describe the words in a Cole Porter song," Griffin said. "What ultimately makes Porter stand apart is his ability to match his lyrics to music perfectly suited to whatever mood, story line or message he was trying to convey."   

Given Porter's predilections, it is interesting to decipher what his clever lyrics really mean, especially in songs like "It's Alright with Me." ("It's the wrong time, and the wrong place… though your lips are lovely they're the wrong lips.")   

On "Let's Do It," Griffin seemed to be having a blast listing the names and rhymes for all the animals who "do it." Porter's witty lyrics include "Boston beans do it…cold Cape Cod clams do it…educated fleas do it…sentimental centipedes do it" and my favorite, "electric eels do it, though it shocks them I know." Porter ended the song with "Let's do it, let's fall in love."

Porter wrote serious songs too. Griffin performed lilting versions of  "All Through the Night" and "In the Still of the Night," which he said is one of his  favorites. A snappy rendition of "I Love Paris" included a great clarinet solo by Sanford, and Griffin's up tempo "I Get a Kick Out of You" was a toe tapper.  

Griffin got a standing ovation at the end of the set before performing "Don't Fence Me In" and "True Love" as sing-alongs. 

Afterwards, Greenbrae resident Katja Kallick, said the performance "felt like I was in my own living room. It was very intimate. I'm originally from Europe and this is how theater should be."