Like the song says, “it takes two…” and for this show to work it takes two pairs of two, not just one. There has to be someone who adores Pearl Bailey and Pearl Bailey herself, and there needs to be an interpreter of Bailey’s material and a second person to accompany her in just the right way. For Goodspeed’s simple but effective “Ambassador of Love: Celebrating Pearl Bailey,” both duos are on the small stage under a tent. Both love-fests center around a woman whose name has just become a byword: Rashidra Scott. Pearl Bailey was as much a personality as she was a singer and her unique styling of a song mattered as much as the song. She was also a mentor to many artists in a variety of fields. I suspect that if she met Ms. Scott she would have gladly mentored her, but there would really be no need, as Scott is her own woman, a consummate singer and reader of the songs she chooses to sing. In this case, all 21 of them have moved over from Pearly Mae to Rashidra without effort and to great effect.
