Best Musical
Smokey Joe's Café at the American Heartland Theatre
OK, so Smokey Joe's Cafe played a gazillion performances on Broadway and features a song that begins with "I'm goin' to Kansas City." Yet we never really felt compelled to see it, finding such excuses as "It's a revue" or "There's no story, no plot." Then, in March, the American Heartland mounted it with style and class. All responsible for the production had the sense to realize that each of the songs Lieber and Stoller made famous -- "On Broadway," "Stand By Me," "Hound Dog," "Love Potion #9" -- were short stories in their own right; with such talented storytellers, it was like a beach book we couldn't put down.
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