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Parker Scott: Company of Strangers |
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At: Don't Tell Mama
Reviewer: David Roberts for Theatre Reviews Limited |
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[The comments from Parker Scott are from an interview that David Roberts had with the performer recently.]
At one point in his current show "Company of Strangers" at Don't Tell Mama, Parker Scott introduces his band in the following way: "Pretty boy on my left Carl Allocco, Pretty boy on my right Gerry Dieffenbach." It was at that moment that pretty boy Parker Scott redefined "boy band" for all time. Even more significantly, Parker staked a powerful claim on not only the lingua franca but on the human community's right to use the spoken and written word in the most opportune ways.
  
Claiming power and using power appropriately might be the real themes of Parker Scott's show. Each of the songs in the program focuses on some aspect of the human condition which makes us both somehow connected to one another and yet somehow estranged from one another, a "company of strangers."
The resolution of this dichotomous state (if there is one) or, at least, the recognition of the bifurcation is most likely found somewhere on the non-conscious and/or spiritual level. This is the level Parker Scott and his band guide their audiences to in "Company of Strangers" and it is the level that has piqued Parker's interest of late. "I have recently gotten very interested in yoga and have begun taking classes. I find it an incredibly spiritual experience and it is really great just to get inside of yourself to learn and experience who you are and challenge your body, mind, and spirit."
All of the songs in Parker Scott's show challenge individual and collective body, mind, and spirit of the audience. Most of the time this challenge is offered gently, even subtly as it is in "Let It Sing" from "Violet" (Brian Crawley and Jeanine Tesori) or "Something Wonderful" from Rogers and Hammerstein's "The King and I" or even Janis Ian and Kye Fleming's "She Must Be Beautiful."
"The artist's job," Parker Scott believes "is to go to the moment, to the feeling [of the song], to, as Carl Allocco says, "go to the abyss and jump off, experience what's there and come back." This is not too surprising an affirmation from an artist whose strongest personal influence was his grandmother and whose professional mentors are Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian, and Jimmy Webb.
Grandmothers give us unconditional and non-judgmental love which allow us to take Parker Scott up on his persistent offers to go on the journeys he, Joni, Janis, Jimmy and Nick Drake have historically offered their musical "tourists." Parker believes this kind of song-journey "displays the heart and let's people see their own stories" and he has the uncanny ability to pry open the soul just enough for the audience member to get in touch with her or his stories in revealing and healing ways. Even if this journey is sometimes less than effortless, it is a journey worth taking. Songs like "Two Beds And A Coffee Machine" (Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones), "Unloved" (Jann Arden Richards), or the show's title song "In The Company of Strangers" by Carl Allocco are songs that challenge the listener and expose the sometimes "messy" side of life but they are songs that in Parker Scott's hands tweak the spirit in restorative ways.
Parker Scott's performance is at the same time playful, intense, and deep and always respectful of the lyrics and music he chooses to sing and interpret. "River Man" (Nick Drake), "God" (Carl Allocco), and "Boundless Faith" (Gerry Dieffenbach) are all three powerful songs and because Parker Scott is connected to what he is singing the power of the songs encompasses the heart of the listener in equally powerful ways.
This ability comes "naturally" to an artist like Parker Scott; however, it also comes from hard work, focus, and a multitude of skills which he has chosen to hone and sharpen into a formidable talent and craft. Like another of his mentors Ricky Martin, Parker Scott believes that success comes from choosing one thing and doing that one thing well. Parker Scott has chosen to be the best singer and actor he can be. And, from all indications, he has succeeded.
Parker Scott told me he has at least three more shows in some stage of development so we will be able to hear a lot more from this gifted and graced performer. In the meantime, see Parker Scott whenever you can, buy his CD "Company of Strangers" (click here to go to the review of the CD) and anticipate more journeys in song in the near future.
Two more things about Parker Scott: he likes brown sugar and cinnamon Pop-Tarts and when he was a kid he had "the biggest crush on Kristy McNichol" and is probably one of the few people in the world who has her album. You just don't get information like this from those "big three" newspapers. And you just don't get a better journey to the abyss and back than you do with Parker Scott.
Reviewed on Saturday March 10, 2001
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CD Release Celebration presented by Meanwhile Records at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Final performance on Saturday March 24th. There is a $12.00 cover charge and a 2-drink minimum. Reservations can be made by calling (212) 757-0788.
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