Martini Talk: Gay Marshall and Daniels & Frankfort

Gay Marshall's idea of holiday entertainment is to sing Edith Piaf songs and impersonate Karl Lagerfeld.  And while such choices may not exactly achieve the same popularly as seeing the Grinch or the Rockettes, her effervescent charm and extraordinary song interpreting skills make Are Ya Havin' Any Fun, her sparkling little cup of Christmas cheer, a perfectly delightful December entertainment for grown-ups.

The pixyish chanteuse, who has played Diana Morales on Broadway, Grizabella in Paris and was so emotionally devastating in the recent Off-Broadway revival of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, returns to the Zipper for a four performance engagement that continues on December 4, 11 and 18.  She takes her show's title from the 1939 Sammy Fain/Jack Yellen hit which, like much of her material, has nothing to do with the holidays.  Yet Marshall introduces it as a commentary on all the stress that comes to surface during the season and a plea for us all to just relax.  Bob Telson's "Calling You" and a gorgeous rendition of Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do" is dedicated to those who we wish we could see this time of year and Jacques Brel's "The Dove" and "Sons Of," which she sings with heart-clutching conviction, are prayers for peace on earth.

The bluesy sexuality she brings to Jimmy Witherspoon's "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down And Out)" is matched by the tongue-in-cheek goofiness of her gangsta rap "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town."

"I will grab any opportunity to sing an Edith Piaf song," she says with glee before tearing into "La Foule" and "Belle Histoire."  Isn't that Christmasy?" she asks with a perky smile after the emotionally soaring performance.

Aside from her singing, as accompanied by music director Mark Hartman at piano, Steve Gilewski on bass and Michael Crioter on percussion and guitar, Marshall also performs four self-written comic monologues where she plays a spoiled wealthy widow (who sings a revised lyric of Cole Porter's "The Laziest Gal In Town" as "The Greediest Gal On Earth"), a cruelly honest cosmetics counter woman, a Parisian tour guide ("Don't hug the French") and an assortment of famous designers.  Her material is a bit hit or miss, but her characters are very funny and entertaining.

There were numerous technical problems on opening night, but they only revealed what a funny and charming woman Gay Marshall is when working off the cuff.  Watching her perform combines the pleasures of admiring a fine artist and making a new friend.

I kept thinking of The Smothers Brothers while watching the free-flowing but underplayed give and take between comic singers Booth Daniels and Patrick Frankfort in their one-night performance of 2 Guys.  1 Guitar.  No Standards. at Don't Tell Mama.  After the show, Daniels advised me with deadpan seriousness that they were more like The Smothers Brothers on crystal meth.

Daniels is the dark, slightly scruffy one with an authoritative coolness who can play the microphone like he's hiding a Casio keyboard in his mouth.  Frankfort, the tall one with the guitar, has an innocent dorkiness about him that hides a lecherous underbelly.  There's nary a punch line in their between-song banter yet the quirky absurdity of their chemistry, so fresh and seemingly spontaneous, is very, very funny.

Most of their songs are by Frankfort, based on personal experiences like having more than one girlfriend break up with him by saying she's a lesbian ("Where have all the straight girls gone?" he ponders in song) and the tragedy of hair loss.  When the boys do get sincere with a lovely "(I Can't Wait To Fall Again) Into You" they joke how Frankfort's emo display will help him score with the ladies.  They also do covers, like a Spice Girls medley performed with a fierce dedication to girl power and Ben Folds' hilariously folky arrangement of Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit."

Booth Daniels and Patrick Frankfort have their separate careers in comedy, music and acting with no future dates for joint appearances scheduled as of yet.  But hopefully this promising pair will be treading the cabaret boards much more frequently.

Most of the country knows John McWhorter from his weekly columns at the New York Sun, his commentaries on National Public Radio and his occasional visits to CNN and Fox News.  I know John as that fun guy I sometimes run into at piano bars who knows every song from obscure musicals like I Had A Ball and Fade Out-Fade In.  He also occasionally dabbles in cabaret performing and, with his light, easy-going baritone and unassuming warmth, is such a natural at it I wish he'd perform more often.  He'll be appearing at The Duplex on December 2 and 11 at 7pm in This Is My Night To Howl, an hour of songs by Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Harry Warren and some lesser known early 20th century tunesmiths.  Joining John at piano is Sheldon Forrest, a mainstay of New York's cabarets and piano bars since moving here in 1998.  In 2008 Sheldon plans to relocate to Paris for new career opportunities.  It won't be the same without 'cha.

By the way, there is no truth to the rumor that Noel Coward's working title for Blithe Spirit was Three's Company.

Michael Dale's Martini Talk appears every Monday and Thursday in BroadwayWorld.com.