SEQUIM — Surrender to the music this Saturday night. And if possible, do it again Sunday afternoon. You will feel fabulous.
That, essentially, is the message from conductor Dewey Ehling and the Peninsula Singers as they plunge into “Time with Jerome and Cole,” a Cole Porter-Jerome Kern extravaganza overtaking a Sequim church this weekend.
Yes, the show will be in a church, and yes, the men will be in tuxedoes and the women in elegant black.
But with songs like “Too Darn Hot,” “I Love Paris,” “Don’t Fence Me In,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Let’s Misbehave,” “Now You Has Jazz” and “Let’s Do It” — plus plenty more — this is not a stodgy affair.
Ehling, who is known for conducting Handel’s “Messiah” and other great works of the classical canon, felt like doing a tribute to Kern and Porter because he considers their music to be every bit as awesome.
“Time with Jerome and Cole” is “my way of saying, ‘I think you’re important,’” to these two early 20th-century songwriters.
In other words: Porter and Kern gave their own brand of joy to the world. And that, Ehling figures, is just as valuable a contribution as the music of Bach and Beethoven.
“Time” starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Trinity United Methodist Church — which happens to be the same venue for the “Messiah” — at 100 S. Blake Ave.
Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors and students and free for children 12 and younger; outlets include the Itty Bitty Buzz at 110 E. First St., Port Angeles, and The Buzz cafe at 128 N. Sequim Ave. in Sequim. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
But let’s cut all this talk. The songs sing it best: “They Didn’t Believe Me,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” “Long Ago and Far Away” and “I’ve Told Every Little Star,” are among the Kern numbers, along with “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” by soloist Stephanie Clark, “Ol’ Man River” by Jack Reid, “Bill” by Vicki Helwick and “You Are Love” by Linda Grubb.
And that’s just the first half.
After intermission and refreshments, the Peninsula Singers will give themselves over to Porter, and “Begin the Beguine,” “Old-Fashioned Garden,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Night and Day,” “It’s All Right with Me,” “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” “In the Still of the Night” with soloist Karen Pritchard and, with Trent Pomeroy and Clark dishing it out, a duet of “Let’s Do It.”
That’s right, these lyrics are a little risque, Ehling said. But that’s life — and Porter knew exactly how to put it to music.
In addition to conducting, Ehling arranged many of the songs in “Time with Jerome and Cole,” and added a bit of narration to tell the songwriters’ own life stories.
In the show, local actors Jim Dries and Paul Martin portray Porter and Kern, respectively, plus Sequim actress Mary Griffith plays Caryl Brahms, a music critic who interviews the two men.
Ehling doesn’t aim to turn this into a history lesson, though. He simply wanted to sprinkle in some juicy tidbits about the songwriters themselves.
The conductor offers “Time with Jerome and Cole” as pure pleasure — and the show is shaping up well.
In rehearsal, he fairly dances to these songs, shrugging his shoulders, leaning forward, blue eyes sparkling.
“It’s hard not to get into the rhythm of these things,” Ehling said with a laugh.
“They really move you.”