Johnny Mercer was a complex man but, oh, how he could write lyrics. Mercer penned over 1,500 of them with 230 composers. You can learn about the music and the man through two shows at the Skokie Theatre.
On March 1 and 2, musical theater historian Charles Troy will present a multimedia presentation, “The Just-Too-Marvelous Johnny Mercer.” His guest performer will be cabaret artist Jeff Dean. On March 10, Dean will present “Johnny Mercer: Dream,” accompanied by musical director Beckie Menzie, who will also play Mercer’s wife Ginger.
Dean first performed his Mercer show in 2013 at Davenport’s Piano Bar and Cabaret in Chicago. He admitted that he was initially reluctant to create a show about Mercer when Menzie suggested it, because he wrongly assumed that shows on Mercer had often been done in this area.
“Once I started researching, I was enthralled,” Dean admitted. “I’ve never known any other songwriter of his era to also have a singing career and also be a businessman. “
Dean was astounded by the diversity of Mercer’s songs and fascinated by the man, including his dark side. “He was a heavy drinker and, when he drank, he was not an especially nice person,” Dean explained. “He was someone who achieved so much in spite of himself.”
The cabaret artist learned that Mercer would go into an almost trance-like state when he was writing lyrics. “He called that, ‘Getting in tune with the infinite,'” Dean said. Unlike most lyricists, he preferred that the music be written first.
Dean will perform around 20 hits, including three songs that he considers “quintessential Mercer” — “Moon River,” “Blues in the Night” and “Skylark.”
You’ll already know a lot about Johnny Mercer if you precede your visit to Dean’s show by attending one of Troy’s carefully researched presentations.
Troy said he explored Mercer’s history because, “The impetus in doing my programs in general was to expose the great lyrics of Broadway and the Great American Songbook.” Johnny Mercer’s lyrics rank high on the theater historian’s list.
This program was more difficult to create than many others, Troy indicated. “Mercer was all over the place,” Troy explained. “He was on Broadway, he was in the movies, he wrote jazz songs, he sang. Some songs he wrote just for commercial release. My challenge was to pick songs that would have a through-line that I could hang the songs on.”
Most helpful for Troy’s research was a biography by author Philip George Furia, “Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer.”
One surprising fact Troy learned through his research was that, “The main incident in his life that changed him and shaped him was his affair with Judy Garland. He was ready to ditch his marriage for her,” Troy said.
Garland married someone else, devastating the lyricist. “It changed the way Johnny Mercer wrote,” Troy noted. “He had been writing very cheerful, sunny songs before that. Once this happened to him, his work deepened significantly.”
Johnny Mercer events
‘The Just-Too-Marvelous Johnny Mercer’
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1 and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 2
Where: Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $15
Contact: (847) 677-7761; skokietheatre.com
‘Johnny Mercer: Dream’
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, March 10
Where: Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $22
Contact: (847) 677-7761; skokietheatre.com
