Review: Claybourne Elder Makes Charming OC Cabaret Debut at Segerstrom Arts

You know you're in for a wonderfully irreverent, tongue-in-cheek kind of show when you get Patti LuPone—the Broadway diva herself who's, of course, been known to snatch audience members' mobile phones from their interruptive little hands in the past—to record a cute intro announcement to your one-man cabaret show. 

Although, her plea to this audience seemed different from her usual phone-snatching expected mantra:

"He doesn't mind if you take photos during the show…" offers LuPone like a voice of a (theater) God. "As long as he looks cute in them!"

That is just the cheeky start to what ended up being one of the funniest, snark-filled cabaret shows to ever play Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Cabaret Series: the OC debut engagement of dashingly handsome and playfully sassy Broadway actor Claybourne Elder and his one-man show If The Stars Were Mine, that played three performances at the Samueli Theatre from February 20-23, 2025. 

More of a confessional stand-up comedy show with a few fun songs thrown in (as opposed to most cabaret shows that tend to lean heavier on songs and less on stories), Elder's entertaining show was presented with a whole memoir's worth of witty, sometimes bawdy personal stories that also made just enough room for a few musical selections in between to demonstrate his proven vocal prowess—a change of pace at this venue that had the audience in stitches. 

For 70+ minutes, Elder entertained and enraptured an audience of various ages and demographics—and political leanings—with his stunning voice, his self-effacing jokes, and his undeniable charisma that somehow engaged both gray-haired bitties and melodramatic twinks in attendance of the Friday evening performance, where he was accompanied by a lone locally-sourced pianist throughout the evening. 

While much of his stories were met with generous chuckles, a few tales that nonchalantly mentioned his gay identity most likely got a few of the expected conservatives and geriatrics in attendance amongst this, after all, OC audience a bit hot-and-bothered.

For the rest of us, however, Elder's funny, autobiographical show was a surprisingly candid yet generally wholesome delight from start to finish.

With heart-stopping matinee idol good looks, a rich tenor voice, and wickedly sardonic delivery, Elder had the audience hanging on to every story, which covered various topics from his days growing up in a Mormon environment (and, of course, having his sexual orientation be a counter to that) to his work on in the musical theater oeuvre. On the even more personal side, he also spoke at length about becoming a husband and then, later, a proud, doting dad via a surrogate, and how that process of achieving the dream of a non-traditional but, yet, wholly traditional family has—as one would expect—changed him completely for the better. 

For the unfamiliar, Elder is primarily known for his work on the stage and, most recently, he starred as Andy in the (mostly) gender-bent Tony Award-winning 2021 revival of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY (which would end up being the last of his shows that Sondheim will see before his death days later after seeing a preview). 

Looking over his impressive résumé, Elder himself has been cast in multiple Sondheim musicals throughout his career. In fact, he kicked off his professional stage career in roles in SWEENEY TODD, ROAD SHOW, and INTO THE WOODS.

Elder made his Broadway debut in 2011 originating the role of Buck Barrow in the musical BONNIE & CLYDE and has appeared in multiple stage productions such as CABARET, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, PIPPIN, ALLEGRO, and PASSION. On television, viewers may recognize him from his recurring role as the dashing on-the-DL society gay John Adams on HBO's The Gilded Age starring alongside a plethora of other theatre luminaries that include Christine Baranski, Donna Murphy, Kelli O'Hara, Michael Cerveris, Denée Benton, and the one and only Audra McDonald.

As he entered the room and planted himself center-stage to start his show, he remarked about loving his time so far in Southern California.

"I'm from New York," he declared with an air of winking sarcasm, "but… I gotta say… I don't know if you guys know this, but it's really nice here!" 

I assumed he must have been talking about our weather.

Like most Broadway stars, Elder, too, started from humble beginnings.

Originally from Springville, Utah and was raised in the Mormon Church, Elder grew up as a demonstratively sassy child, the youngest of eight siblings. He knew at an early age that not only was he, um, a little different from the other boys, but he also knew he was predestined to be a future practitioner of the musical theater arts—a combination that had his young self identifying pretty early on that, despite outwardly being a "good boy," he was, at least in his own mind, "dark, twisted, and a little messed up." 

This led to a saucy song called "I Want to Be Evil," a funny and seductively naughty "I Want" song credited to the saucy minx herself, Eartha Kitt.

Alas, Elder found that it was easier to keep these so-called "naughty" thoughts internal, even if some of his outward behavior was certainly giving hints as to who Elder truly was on the inside. He confessed having early crushes on other boys—and that he also lusted after the abs-tastic statue of Jesus he saw at church. This segued into a slowed-down, torch song-y arrangement of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" that made me and the audience smile.

Many people were surprised to learn that Elder has an older gay brother, too—someone he'd had to "compete" with in terms of singing traditionally "girl" roles during family performances, like Ariel in The Little Mermaid. As this Samueli Theater engagement was his show, Elder got to have his own leaping-out-of-water moment by singing an excerpt of Ariel's "Part of Your World" followed by "Moments in the Woods" from Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS (a song normally sung by the Baker's Wife in the show).

Elder then spoke briefly about his Broadway debut originating the role of Buck Barrow in the stage musical version of BONNIE & CLYDE (which had its pre-Broadway tryout an hour south at the La Jolla Playhouse), that revealed a very funny, behind-the-scenes anecdote about rubber ducks, which I won't spoil here in case you plan to see his concert in the future.

Next, Elder recounted his time in a production of Stephen Sondheim's PASSION, a show about one man's thirsty obsession with another person. This triggered his hilariously dark and creepy rendition of "On The Street Where You Live" from MY FAIR LADY that became, with his perfect delivery, an even more pronounced stalker anthem. 

Of course, his attitude and behavior changed once Elder became a dad to his son Bo seven years ago, which he has documented extensively on his social media to the adoration of his fans. Clearly enamored by fatherhood, Elder's touching rendition of "Hey, Kid" from the musical IF/THEN hit different and really warmed many hearts that evening as Elder expressed his joy and awe of having this child look up to him—a prospect he never thought would be possible as a gay man growing up in the Mormon faith.

The touching song was such a divergent contrast to the song that followed: a rather bawdy, cheeky ode to one of his childhood crushes: "Han Solo," written by Will Aronson and Bill Nelson that described his uncensored lust for wanting to take a shower with the Star Wars space swashbuckler. 

It was back to paying tribute to his son (who happened to be watching parts of the show from a balcony seat just above stage right) with Elder offering his take on the concert's title song "If The Stars Were Mine," a lovely ditty by Melody Gardot which he said had become a favorite lullaby that he sang to his son.

He finished the show with several stories surrounding his many interactions with one of his personal heroes, the late composer Stephen Sondheim, who has been a significant contributor to his career in more ways than one. 

This led to his most inspiring story of the night, in which he spoke about the creation of the non-profit foundation he started after the pandemic called "City of Strangers." 

Soon after getting kicked out of Brigham Young University for being gay, Elder found himself as a young man visiting New York City and got himself a cheap standing-room ticket to see THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. 

After that performance, a random stranger noticed his enthusiasm and decided to approach him, handing him $200 to go see the then revival of Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD starring his future co-star in COMPANY Patti LuPone! Though he could have understandably used that money to fund other things, Elder made good on the promise to the stranger and saw the show, and was mesmerized by its artistry, vowing then and there that this is exactly what he wanted to pursue as a career.

That random act of kindness from this stranger—who never introduced himself or told him who he was or what he did—touched him deeply and has shaped his attitude about the world ever since. He never knew what happened to that man nor has that man reached out to him years later after he became famous. 

Of course, Elder went to star in several Sondheim projects, including getting cast from an open call for the original company of ROAD SHOW (where he sparred with Sondheim himself over the high notes of his character sings, but Sondheim proved Elder wrong anyway), four productions of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and then getting cast as Andy, the now male flight attendant in the 2021 revival of COMPANY (fun fact: Elder and LuPone both have the same birthday).

And while as a cast member in the post-pandemic relaunch of COMPANY, Elder decided to revisit the gesture that kind stranger did for him all those years ago to launch a similar "pay-it-forward" type of movement himself in which he would offer free Broadway tickets to strangers, just as that stranger did for him when he was a young man trying to find his place in the world. 

His kindness initiative eventually became viral, and soon others—both random strangers and his famous theater friends—started donating to him so he could purchase more tickets for strangers. This, of course, was the genesis of his "City of Strangers" non-profit.

This led Elder to sing a gorgeous "Finishing The Hat" from SUNDAY as a tribute to Sondheim, followed by another lovely lullaby to his son, JJ Heller's heartwarming "Paving the Runway (You're Gonna Fly)," hinting at the kind of man he has grown to be: an artist with a philanthropic lean, and a doting father who wants to teach his son that the world isn't completely filled with mean, "evil" people, even if recent current events prove otherwise.

But, as fitting Elder, he ended things with a cheeky encore, providing another playful jab at his gay older brother whom he claimed often usurped his stance within family sing-alongs, robbing him of having his Judy Garland moment. So at his show, it was his turn taking on Garland's "Trolley Song" with a palpably enthusiastic gusto.

A fun, playful evening of stories and songs, Elder's OC debut was enjoyable in all its sassy/touching glory. I hope he comes back soon with a sequel.

Oh, and he also gave a wonderful update: Elder announced that for his final Saturday evening show for his concerts in the OC, that very same stranger who gave him that $200—L.A. resident Mark Howell—was going to be in the audience to watch his show... the first time this former stranger will be seeing him perform ever!

What an incredible full circle moment! And it could not have happened to a much more not-evil guy.

* Follow this reviewer on Bluesky / Instagram / Threads / X: @cre8iveMLQ *

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Tickets to remaining performances of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2024-2025 Cabaret Series can be purchased online at www.SCFTA.org, by phone at 714-556-2787 or in person at the SCFTA box office (open daily at 10 am). Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

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