Best Ensemble in a Hit

The cast of this Lieber and Stoller revue was a mix of ages and races, with the latter never given any consideration when it came to who was singing a love song to whom. With women such as Lori Blalock and Victoria Barbee and relative male neophytes like Darryl E. Calmese Jr., the energy of Smokey Joe's Café pivoted on which performer was handed which number. But with this much talent onstage, one sensed that the assignments could have been -- but never were -- arbitrary.