Atlantic City Weekly

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Beth Tinnon

The musical birthplace of Beth Tinnon's versatile vocal talent was Nashville, Tenn., home of the renowned country radio program Grand Ole Opry, which first hit the airwaves in the middle of what was arguably the most exhilarating, influential and tumultuous decade of the 20th century -- the 1920s.

Tinnon expanded her country-music roots to include jazz and contemporary classics, singing with various ensembles in and around Atlantic City since relocating here from Nashville in September 2000. Recently she started delving deeper into the history of some of the jazz numbers she'd perform at the former Top of the Trop, and currently every Wednesday evening at Cape May's Congress Hall Brown Room.

"Before The Quarter opened [at the Tropicana, where she presently performs a variety of styles at the Tango Lounge most Monday nights] I did a lot of jazz at the Top of the Trop," says Tinnon. "It came to my attention that many of the songs I loved to play then, and many of the artists whose songs I perform today, originated in the 1920s. That sparked my interest in exploring and researching more about the songs and who wrote them, and what was going on in the nation at that time."

The "roaring '20s," as they were called, inspired Tinnon to write and produce a show called A Night at the Speakeasy -- a Musical Journey Through the 1920s, which will be presented this Saturday, June 20, starting 8pm at Dante Hall Theater of the Arts.

"The '20s was such a neat decade, from the flappers age to art deco to what was happening in architecture -- so many interesting things took place back then," she says. "Prohibition was a noble experiment that we all know didn't work, and while it was in effect [1920-'33] there were over 100,000 speakeasies in New York City alone. Then came the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, [in Chicago] which was followed by a conference of mob bosses held in Atlantic City in 1929."

Backing up Tinnon's vocals during A Night at the Speakeasy will be Lisa Tee on piano, Andy Lalasis on bass, Harry Himles on drums, and Steve Lombardelli on tenor sax, clarinet and flute. Tee is also the show's musical director. There will be three costume changes during the production that reflect the whirlwind fashion trends of the era, and an authentic stage set and video backdrop produced by Ryan Long of the Riddlesbrood Theater Company. Prior to Tinnon's final costume change, a choir directed by Drew Harvey will perform a Duke Ellington medley that will include songs that helped spawn "The Charleston" dance craze among others in the '20s.

The first part of the show kicks off with the famous "Foxtrot" number "Ain't We Got Fun?" and will lead into a tribute to legendary blues pioneer Bessie Smith. It will include the songs "My Man" (popularized by Fannie Brice in the Ziegfield Follies, and later made famous by Barbra Streisand in the film Funny Girl), "Lovesick Blues" (later covered by Hank Williams), and two '20s songs popularized by Al Jolson -- "Blue Skies" and "April Showers."

The show will include the 1927 Gene Austin hit "My Blue Heaven" and the Cole Porter sensation "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love." A song that Mickey Mouse (created in 1928 by Walt Disney) helped popularize when he crooned it to sweetheart Minnie, called "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby," will be part of the set list, as will a blues standard written by Jimmy Cox in 1923 and covered by Eric Clapton, among others, called "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out." That rather melancholy ballad will precede an upbeat gospel hit from the '20s, says Tinnon, which will conclude the show.

"We'll come out of that rather sad moment into a nice gospel number that will lift people's spirits, which is sort of indicative of the times," she says. "The hardships of the Depression left most people down and out, but we pulled together as a nation by leaning on one another and trusting in our faith."