Review: John Lloyd Young Returns to Café Carlyle With Some Surprises

The voice is unmistakable, even in the dimmed dining room of the Café Carlyle. John Lloyd Young enters from behind the bar practically in camouflage: a black dinner jacket, black shirt, and black tie. He’s like Johnny Cash at the prom, and his made-for-radio voice would certainly qualify him as a dream date — in 1963 as well as 2023.

Wearing shades, he gently serenades the room with “My Prayer” by Georges Boulanger (a tune made popular by the doo-wop group the Platters). Just as tenderly, he transitions into the Boudleaux Bryant’s “Love Hurts” (made popular by Roy Orbison). In this evening of smartly selected and occasionally surprising songs, Young and music director Jacquelyn Schreiber prove that a great song can be interpreted many ways and tailored to any voice, like a bespoke suit.

Yes, Young performs the crowd-pleasers from Jersey Boys that brought him to national attention (he won a Tony for his portrayal of Frankie Valli in 2006, and later reprised his role for the 2014 film). “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Working My Way Back to You,” and “Sherry Baby” are all there — and Young soars into the heavens as ever.

Truly, Young has the sound and appearance of a matinee idol who was bitten by an Anne Rice vampire back in the ’60s, fated to mesmerize adoring women with his ethereal falsetto until some jealous husband finally drives a stake through his heart. His specialty is reanimating the pop hits of yesteryear, and one has to make a strenuous effort not to be charmed when he sings “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “Let There Be Love,” and “Knock Me Off My Feet.”

But the real delight of this evening is hearing Young’s spin on numbers you might not expect him to sing, like a moody and complex version of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now” that sounds as if it was arranged by Philip Glass and Claude Debussy in some sort of time-traveling collaboration (I suspect it was actually arranged by Schreiber, who accompanies Young on piano with the versatility of five different musicians). It is arrestingly beautiful, it fits Young’s voice like a glove, and I really wish there was a recording somewhere, because one listen is not enough.

Also worthy of a recording is his rousing interpretation of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which he performed at the Carlyle back in 2018. It sounds even better now, with Young fully embracing his rocker rasp and howling joyously through the high notes.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the permanently youthful crooner adopts a professorial posture in sections of the show, offering a history of the Café Carlyle and its surrounding hotel, which he refers to as the “palace of secrets.” He spills a few as he asks the Carlyle’s devoted light and sound technician, Darwin Best, to bump the house lights so we can admire the Marcel Vertes murals that decorate the room. I wasn’t aware that Richard Rodgers once lived in the Carlyle, but Young’s lingering rendition of “I Have Dreamed” from The King and I (another unexpected choice) has now permanently affixed that fact in my memory.

That makes this an excellent show for anyone looking to make a first pilgrimage to the Carlyle. Young knows and loves this room, and from the way he sounds, it clearly loves him back.