Metro Pulse/Backstage/Five Guys Named Moe

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What:
Five Guys Named Moe by Clarke Peters, directed by Harry Bryce

When:
Thru Feb. 14

Where:
Bijou Theater

Cost:
Call 522-0832 for complete schedule and ticket prices.

Five Guys depicts Jordan's formula for love

by Paige M. Travis

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, more than a few guys out there are in need of a little lesson in love and romance. Yeah, you know who you are. Rising to the occasion, the Bijou Theater shares some wisdom on the subject in the form of Five Guys Named Moe, a musical revue that is light on story, heavy on audience participation and layered throughout with contagious foot-stomping.

Conceived by Clarke Peters in 1990 as a showcase for tunes by Louis Jordan, Five Guys is about Nomax (Richie Cook), a buff young dude in a white tanktop who swigs generously from a bottle of Jack Daniels, listening to the radio and sulking about his lady. After six years together, she's dumped him—and it sounds like he deserves it. Caught between kicking himself and drowning his sorrows, Nomax lapses into what can only be described as an alcohol-induced hallucination. Five guys, all named Moe and wearing the most colorful garb since Joseph, leap, fully-formed, from his radio. The quintet drags Nomax from his stoop and out of his stupor with catchy songs and some advice.

The Moes take turns impressing upon Nomax their philosophies of love and relationships via some of Louis Jordan's most hilarious and groovy songs—call it Jive Eye for the White Guy. Big Moe (Nathan Best) warns him about women itchin' to get married. Sung directly to the audience's male constituents, the song is a charmer—as is Best—although the true magic of his smooth-as-silk voice isn't revealed until the second act numbers "Caledonia" and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'." In addition to being a pastor at Knoxville's Full Armor Church, Best is a former member of the O'Jays and the Fairfield Four, with whom he performed on the Grammy-winning soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou?

Li'l Moe (Mikael Merchant II) sings about his ladies of preference in "I Like 'Em Fat Like That." Jordan definitely wasn't living in a carb-crazy culture when he wrote lyrics like: "You can have all those lean chicks tender and tall. But when it comes to mean kicks, a big fat momma's the best of all." Merchant's quick and supple moves are flawless; his is an impressive debut for a 19-year-old.

Marquez Rhyne, a familiar face at the Bijou, fills the shoes of No Moe. His lanky frame flexes like a spaghetti noodle, and he taps up a storm during "Reet, Petite & Gone."

Charles Lattimore Jr. wears comically large white-framed glasses in his role as Four-Eyed Moe. In a smooth voice that sometimes evokes Smokey Robinson, he entreats the ladies to watch out for men with bad intentions. "If he laughs at all your jokes, says your brand is all he smokes, he drinks nothing but Cokes, he wants to meet your folks, don't believe him baby, it's a hoax."

As Eat Moe, David Penn avoids caricature as the butt of several fat jokes. "You can't eat your way out of the blues," one Moe claims. "I do it all the time!" Eat Moe replies.

Louis Jordan made his mark in the '40s, his energetic jump blues influencing Chuck Berry and foretelling the advent of rock 'n' roll. So, clearly, the music is the most important element of the show, and director Harry Bryce puts the six-piece band right on the stage, atop Moe's Garage. The Moes—all accomplished singers—tackle some pretty impressive choreography as well, strutting and spinning in a Technicolor blur. Bryce's choreography fills the stage with movement, and the dancers are up to the challenge.

Most of Jordan's songs fit only very loosely into the theme of helping Nomax get his girl back, but everyone's having such a good time it doesn't seem to matter. With the conga line that weaves through the theater as a finale to Act I, and the pseudo-Dating Game that finds three female audience members on stage for Four-Eyed Moe to "interview," the show goes down like a party with a couple hundred guests and a live band. With the fourth wall completely toppled, the actors encourage clapping and singing, an invitation that's impossible to resist during songs like "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" and "Caledonia."

The Bijou's sound system, while improving, isn't yet up to par for musical theater. The sound from the performers' remote microphones goes from speakers to the left and right of the stage, which leads to the effect that the singers' voices come from the wings instead of their mouths. The effect is more dramatic for guests not sitting in the center section. Otherwise, the sound is clear, and the live instruments carry as much weight as the singers.

While Bijou's next offerings—Evita, Mame, and Nunsense—are more traditional musicals (the season also promises Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers), the musically-saturated Five Guys Named Moe is an enjoyable showcase of some serious talents, not to mention a collection of how-tos and no-nos for guys and gals. If you pick up on what they're puttin' down, as Jordan says, you'll come away with a catchy song in your head and a few ideas for Valentine's Day.