Ricky Pope - Page 7

Monologist Joe Gulla has a gift with words and sharing stories, as he showed an appreciative 54 Below audience last night.

When you first see Jesse JP Johnson (Wicked, Spongebob Squarepants, Glory Days,) you think you are about to get some forthright, crooning, suburban boy-band action. He comes in a package complete with chinos, a patterned shirt, and tall blond hair that looks like the newest New Kid on the Block. But then he sings. And what comes out is not that at all. It is a soulful sound, stratospherically high, that is informed by generations of blues singers. Jesse JP Johnson is no bubble gum pretender. He is the real thing.

Tony-award winner Beth Leavel (The Prom, The Drowsy Chaperone) has made a career out of going too far. Her two most famous roles were delightfully over-the-top women with a healthy dose of self-obsession. Her comedic style is always to ride right up to the line and pause for just long enough to make you think “Oh no, she won’t go there. It would just be too outrageous.” And then of course she does the thing that no one else would do, leaving you howling with laughter. The old vaudevillians called it “chutzpah.” Lucille Ball had it. Penny Marshall had it. Bette Midler has it. And Beth Leavel has it in spades. Her courage to just keep moving the line is why we love her.

There are some people who just bring joy wherever they go. People who, just by the force of their personality, make things feel safe and kind and fun. Jelani Remy (Ain't Too Proud, The Lion King, Smokey Joe's Cafe) is just that sort of person, as he proved tonight in his solo show THIS IS MY MOMENT at Feinstein's 54 Below. Although his show started as something rather autobiographical, about halfway through he discarded the device and just sang songs that were joyful and that showcased his marvelous, rangy voice.

Sally Wilfert is the kind of singer you just want to listen to all night. She has a crystalline tone that’s clear as a bell. She’s capable of belting without being in your face about it and being soft while still always being present. She’s a great storyteller who takes on characters without losing her own unique personality. She is, in short, a cabaret singer’s cabaret singer. She mixed up standards and show tunes with pop songs and easy listening. It’s not every singer that could get away with using “You Light Up My Life” as an encore, but somehow it just seemed very right.

Ari Grooves' show is a trip back in time to connect with ancestors, both hers personally and the collective ancestors. She paints a picture of a planet full of wanderers, staring at the sky and asking the same eternal questions. She does it through a combination of slam poetry, hip-hop, soul, gospel, dance, video, scenes, pantomime, and imagery. It is more than cabaret or theatre. It is performance art that encompasses the entire humanity of planet Earth. That’s a lot to take in. The premiere of this show was timed to coordinate with the release of her first album, also called MESSAGE FROM A WANDERER.

Ms. Shahoian, who hails from the Bay Area in California, has an interesting story. She was a child prodigy whose gifts landed her an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when she was only 8 years old. She has been making beautiful music ever since, including two albums, Waiting for You and Believe, which was the winner of several awards.

For those of you who haven’t seen The Skivvies yet, they are Lauren Molina (Sweeney Todd, Rock of Ages, Marry Me a Little) and Nick Cearley (1st National All Shook Up, Sex Tips for Women From a Gay Man.) They are known for their wonderful arrangements of pop songs, show tunes, parodies, and mash-ups. The hook of the group is they do it all only in their fanciest underwear. They play a battery of instruments between them. Big voices and crazy harmonies….but no pants.

In many ways, Jason Robert Brown’s show focused on the metaphorical prison we are all just emerging from as we slowly return to something resembling our former lives. As he pointed out, as much as we try to put the pieces back in place, there are simply things that have gone away, maybe for good. Maybe not. No one can really be sure. His lyrics have always been a glimpse inside a mind that obsesses on the big questions. But in light of the traumatic year the world has been through, they seem ripe with new meanings about where we’ve been and where we’re heading.

What do you get when you combine the pianistic finesse of Michael Feinstein, the smooth phrasing of Tony Bennett, and the bawdy wit of Bette Midler? You get Michael McAssey, who for 40 years has reigned as the clown prince of New York cabaret, and has enchanted as one of its most talented troubadours. He calls what he does 'schtick.' But that's undervaluing his unique blend of beautiful ballad singing and standup, or rather 'sit down' comedy.

For Andrew Barth Feldman, the Disney parks were a metaphor for an escape from a life that has seen extraordinary highs and tragic lows. There has been a lot of incident in his brief nineteen years, and through all the change, Disney has been the glue that held it together. In particular, Disney was a special bond to his mother, whom he lost, in true Disney fashion, at a young age. The show opens with the Sherman Brothers song from The Carousel of Progress, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” and it leads to the central premise of the show: how do you build a world based on the future when the future is constantly changing? This is definitely not kid stuff. That is an exceedingly profound metaphor for life. Out of the mouth of babes.

If you want to see a rarely performed musical from the past you have two options. You can either wait for the folks at Encores to get around to the show you love, or you can visit the Lincoln Center Library. Alternatively, you can turn to cabaret staple Ricky Ritzel, who is a one-man Lincoln Center Library. Friday night he unveiled another in his series of RICKY RITZEL'S BROADWAY concerts at Don't Tell Mama. He generously gives you not one, but three musicals from the past. This month's edition of RICKY RITZEL'S BROADWAY celebrates Bright Star, The New Moon, and Dames at Sea.

Britton Smith is a force to be reckoned with. He is a tornado of talent and energy grounded in self-love that expands ever outward to embrace all of his audience. Britton & the Sting is a self-described “funk liberation band.” But that label is not broad enough. They are an all-inclusive advocacy collective that encourages every member of its audience to be its highest self. That sounds like touchy-feely nonsense, but in the case of Britton & the Sting, it is one hundred percent gospel truth. Everyone left their show feeling better about themselves and thinking they can achieve whatever they set their mind to. Why? Because Britton told us so.

There’s an old adage that warns that you should never meet your childhood heroes because they will inevitably be disappointing. I’m happy to report that the old adage is dead wrong. Not only was Andrea McArdle not a disappointment, she was exactly right. She was in fantastic voice, she looked like a million bucks, and she sang every single song you wanted her to sing, including THAT one. But that song is only the tip of the iceberg in a long Broadway career that has been full of surprises. Her show tonight reflected that and had a few surprises of its own.

There are some performers who are blessed with an ineffable quality called “stage presence.” They enter a stage and instantly command your attention, even if they are not really doing much. It is more than looks or charisma or talent. It’s as if they are able to alter the very air in a room simply by being there. Singer/songwriter Anthony Nunziata is such a performer. His self-titled show which opened tonight at The Green Room 42 was 70 minutes of great songwriting and compelling storytelling. He has an angelic tenor voice that is capable of blues, country, pop, and Broadway colors.

AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS is a bit of an organization. The group consists of eleven women but only three perform at any one performance. Tonight’s trio consisted of group founder Carly Kincannon, Amanda Lavergne (Annie, The People in the Picture, ) and Kristen Michelle (Once Upon a Mattress.) Their show is a bundle of joy that makes you want to tap your toes and dance in the aisles. Their energy is infectious. They even managed a costume change going from modified WACS uniforms to slinky burgundy sequin gowns.

Karen Oberlin (Our Sinatra) is not only a delicious singer blessed with great musical sensitivity and excellent diction, but she is also a wonderfully passionate actor who can bring a wide range of emotions to every well-formed phrase. Some singers take great care to make sure the emotions land on the audience. Oberlin has a much lighter touch. She has the gift of making sure the emotions land on her and then allowing the audience to come to her. It's a wonderful thing to watch a singer stop performing and practice the much more difficult art of just being. Ms. Oberlin makes all the hard work look very simple.

Thanks to the successful vaccines and the re-opening of clubs and cabaret rooms, we are starting to see a slow return to the normality of gathering to hear the work of fellow artists. I was privileged to be at such a gathering this afternoon when I attended the PANGEA SUNDAY OPEN MIC & JAZZ BRUNCH. Jazz Brunch was created before the pandemic by multi-award-winning cabaret artist, Sue Matsuki and her awesome musical director and composer, Gregory Toroian. And it is back with a bang, playing to a sold-out house.

Travis Moser is a gifted storyteller as well as an excellent vocalist, as he proved many times in the evening. Most notably in “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress. It is a very poetic lyric that he delivered with great emotion. He was also particularly effective in Jimmy Webb’s “Still Within the Sound of My Voice,” which opened this show. He found a wistful energy in “Adios” and brought some world-weariness to “I”m Blowing Away.” I especially enjoyed his reading of “What’ll I Do?,” the Irving Berlin tune from Ronstadt’s popular “What’s New? album.

It’s hard to pinpoint the proper musical label for Zen Brother. The closest I can come would be to call their style ‘“jazz fusion.”  Although what the jazz is being fused with changes from piece to piece. The set I heard contained influences from salsa, funk, R & B, swing, and New Age. And despite their moniker, zen is not really accurate. They are exciting and lively and full of energy.