by Daniel Hathaway
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com
CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO — Composer and lyricist Cole Porter left New Haven in 1913, taking with him his newly-earned Yale diploma and a portfolio of some 300 songs that already cemented his reputation for witty lyrics and memorable tunes.
Many of those — and many more — would end up between the covers of the Great American Songbook. And also in such endearing revues as Tony DeSare’s “Cole Porter: Let’s Misbehave,’ that played to a large and enthusiastic audience at Blossom on Sunday evening, August 23.
Far from creating a nostalgic excursion down memory lane, the evening’s program presented Porter’s music as a living, breathing organism that might have been written that very morning.
DeSare, who hosted the party and headlined as pianist and vocalist, invited two engaging colleagues along. In addition to displaying their breathtaking specialties, trombonist Aubrey Logan and tap dancer John Manzari shared their voices in solo and ensemble numbers during the evening. And Steven Reineke led The Cleveland Orchestra in scintillating arrangements, beginning with a snappy overture that captured the essence of Cole Porter’s music.
DeSare opened the Porter Songbook with “Night and Day,” filling the pavilion with his strong, clear baritone voice. Logan showed off her impressive trombone chops with ”From This Moment On. Then John Manzari, a protege of Maurie Hines, tapped his way onstage with “I Love Paris.”
Switching the topic to Porter’s influence on younger composers, DeSare offered his own “Paris Always Will Have You,” its wonderful, catchy lyrics sung with pristine diction, then brought his formidable keyboard skills to “Just One of Those Things.”
Tapping into some local pride, Manzari drew cheers from the audience when he told them his family is from Akron and he has many fond memories of Goodyear Park. Then he tapped out “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
Proving that all of Porter’s songs are unique, DeSare pointed up the sophisticated music and lyrics of “I Concentrate on You.” DeSare, accompanied by guitar, gave it an intimate performance, and Logan joined him for the whimsical “True Love.”
“It’s All Right with Me” ended the first half with a demonstration of jazz improvisation techniques with DeSare on piano and vocals, great trombone interjections from Logan, and inspired, made-on-the-spot tap from Manzari.
Part Two began with The Cleveland Orchestra in the spotlight with “Wunderbar” from the musical Kiss Me Kate. Conductor Reineke, who hails from Tipp City, Ohio, sent a heartfelt shoutout to his 5th grade band director who was in the audience. “She was the person who first put an instrument in my hands.”
All three vocalists recombined for a sexy version of “It’s Too Darn Hot,” interjected with show-stopping tap and growling trombone solos. Introducing a Porter rarity, DeSare told the audience, “This is the closest thing we have to a Cole Porter country song,” before launching into “Don’t Fence Me In.”
Logan introduced her own snappy original song, “I’m done pretending (that I don’t love you),” noting that “People always tell me they don’t write songs like that anymore,” then joined DeSare (at the piano) for “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.”
Manzari took and held the spotlight during “Begin the Beguine,” which also highlighted the splendid Cleveland Orchestra’s sax section and featured an inspired tap solo.
Recreating something like a Porter Salon evening — the vocalists gave a medley of excerpts from Porter’s songs including “It’s De-Lovely,” “Let’s Fall in Love,” and “Everytime We Say Goodbye,” which cued up the grand finale of “Anything Goes.”
Of course the crowd wanted just one more song, and of course they were treated to the evening’s title tune, “Let’s Misbehave.”
Photo by Casey Wood
Published on ClevelandClassical.com, August 31, 2026
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