Special Performance of Songbook Songs Sung on Saturday

James Alexander has performed all around the world but there’s nothing like coming home. “I’ve talked about Toms River in Seoul, Korea,” he said recently in a telephone interview.

Alexander, a professional actor and singer and a proud Toms River native, will be performing at Manasquan’s Algonquin Theater on Saturday night, February 5 in a special concert entitled “James Alexander Sings Johnny Mercer.” Alexander will perform two hours of songs written by Mercer, the prolific American composer.

“I didn’t know I could do this show biz thing on my own terms,” Alexander said of the upcoming show, his third at the Algonquin.

“My good friend, William Whitefield, Executive Director at the Algonquin, put this show together. I’ve done a Burt Bacharach show, too, but he was leaning toward Johnny Mercer. And the thing was, of course I knew of Johnny Mercer but I had no idea how many incredible songs he wrote; the lyrics, too.”

Mercer, a giant in American popular music, has written somewhere approaching 1,500 songs, many of them staples in the American popular music canon. “On the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe,” “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” and “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” are just some of the compositions that benefit from Mercer’s masterful, sophisticated language and frequently whimsical rhymes.

“He worked with so many people, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, Henry Mancini. And he wrote lyrics to songs that were already out. He wrote words to “Satin Doll” after Duke Ellington had already put it out,” Alexander marveled.

For Saturday’s show, Alexander said he worked hard to find Mercer songs that would fit comfortably and he could perform well. “I have a certain style,” he said. “I sat with my musical director and dug a little deeper to find something I could put my stamp on.” Alexander plans on performing such Mercer standards as “Moon River,” “Skylark,” and “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby.” “It’ll be an exciting evening with a few surprises thrown in: a special Valentine from me to you,” Alexander chuckled.

Alexander first performed professionally over 30 years ago. “I got my Equity Card with “Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 1980,” he explained. Since then, he has appeared in “Five Guys Named Moe,” “The Wiz,”—of which he is proud to note he first performed at Toms River High School South—and the national tour of “Little Shop of Horrors.” He has also performed with the New York Harlem Singers “for the last five years. We’ve toured South Korea, Japan, China, and Malaysia. We did a Christmas show with a little gospel thrown in, a little musical theater. It’s amazing but all these Asians would know all this gospel music. They’d be singing it back in English. You realize that everyone is connected to God, globally.”

Across the span of his over 30-year career, Alexander has begun to explore new avenues for his talents. “I’ve begun to compartmentalize. You have to have a back-up. I’m taking my life more into my own hands.”

In addition to performing, over the past few years Alexander has begun to explore his other interests. “I’ve been doing lots of photography,” he said noting that he has opened his own business, Sneakpeek Photography to allow himself the freedom to pursue his first love, performing, on his own terms.

Saturday evening’s performance is schedule from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Algonquin Arts Theater, 173 Main Street, Manasquan. Tickets are $40 for Golden Circle seating, $35 for adults and seniors, and students are $30. Call 732-528-9211 for tickets and more information.