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Q&A: O'Connor & Vogel in HOW TO BE PERFECT at Don't Tell Mama

By: Oct. 16, 2004
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BWW: For those folks in our audience who don't know you both, tell us where you came from and what your performing history is!

Brian: Debra and I began working together when our director, Elfin Frederick, asked us to do a sketch at a birthday party. He always invites people to perform at his parties, usually classical music and singing. Elfin directed me in several Off-Off Broadway productions of Shakespeare and Chekhov, and he directed Debra in several plays and in her solo cabaret shows.

Debra: We decided to do one of Mike Nichols and Elaine May's comedy routines, called "Adultery." We enjoyed working together so much, that we decided to do it again the following year, but this time with songs. We asked my musical director, Darryl Curry to join us.

Brian: The chemistry among the three of us was so good, and the audience response was so positive that we decided to put together an evening's worth of songs, with Elfin directing and co-writing the dialogue. And that's how our first show "O'Connor and Vogel: Guy & Doll" was born.

BWW: This new show, "How To Be Perfect," is called a Musical Comedy Cabaret Revue. Tell us about that concept!

Brian: Most of our songs are comic duets from musical theatre, and, with Elfin, we write dialogue around them so that each song becomes a sketch between different characters. For this show Nora Brown has created some wonderful musical staging (if we were dancers, we might call it "choreography"--but we're not...!) And since we perform in intimate spaces like Don't Tell Mama, we call it a Musical Comedy Cabaret Revue. You could also call it a "Miniature Musical Comedy."

Elfin: In "How To Be Perfect" our theme is a seminar...each song is a "case study" of a different couple, demonstrating the "how to" and the "how not to" of being a couple.

BWW: What kind of material have you chosen for the piece?

Brian: We search far and wide through the history of musical theatre for that special "O'Connor & Vogel" song. We look for three things: An infectious melody, a clever and imaginative lyric, and an actable relationship. A lot of our songs are from lesser-known but terrific scores like "Tovarich" (by Lee Pockriss & Anne Croswell), "So Long, 174th Street" (by Stan Daniels), and "It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman" (by Charles Strouse & Lee Adams). It's also generously sprinkled with songs and medleys by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Johnny Mercer. The most recent song, "Therapy," is from Jonathan Larson's "tick, tick... Boom!" and there's even a song from John Forster's comedy album, "Entering Marion."

Debra: Mixed in with the humorous material are some beautiful ballads, including "Here's To Your Illusions" by Sammy Fain & E. Y. Harburg, from "Flahooley," and a medley of Kander and Ebb's "Sometimes A Day Goes By" and "Isn't This Better."

BWW: Being a performing duo can be hard. Isn't it a bit like being married?

Debra: Yes, but you get to go home separately after rehearsals. It has all the joys and pitfalls of a real marriage, just not 24/7.

Brian: In our case, for some reason, Debra and I really click--we enjoy each other's company so much, but we also leave a lot of leeway for each other's neuroses...we even enjoy them.

Debra: Also, we made a rule early on, that we each had veto power over any song or any idea. If one person thought it wouldn't work, we looked for a better idea, and always found it, too.

BWW: What have you learned from your show that you can put into use with your own relationships?

Brian: Assume the other person is fabulous and they will be! Cut each other a lot of slack. Put a lot of work into it. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Debra: Going home and screaming into a pillow also helps!

BWW: So tell us! Is there such a thing as a perfect relationship??

Debra: You'll have to come to see our show and see!

Brian: Do you know of any? The title of one of our songs, "Nobody's Perfect" (from Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's "I Do, I Do") says it all. In fact, the only thing that stands in the way of being perfect is thinking you can be! The show lampoons the whole idea of self-improvement, and "making it work." The funny thing is, some relationships work anyway, in spite of all the struggle. I wonder if love has anything to do with it?

BWW: The show is a satirical take on those contemporary "self-help gurus." Who would win in a mud-wrestling match? Dr. Phil or Deepak Chopra?

Brian: Dr. Phil has the edge, being a big, strapping Southern guy. But, as you can see from the cover of his book, he places a lot of importance on his expensive watch, so that may prevent him from getting down and dirty enough for rolling around in mud.

Elfin: Although, as you will see in the show, Suze Ormand was also of some help. And she would give the mud-wrestling a whole different spin.

 What: How To Be Perfect
Where: Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street
Reservations: 212-757-0788
Cover: $15 cover plus 2 drink minimum

When:
Sunday, October 31, 5:30 PM
Saturday, November 6, 6:00 PM
Tuesday, November 9, 9:00 PM
Sunday, November 14, 5:30 PM
Tuesday, November 16, 9:00 PM
Tuesday, November 23, 6:30 PM
Tuesday, November 30, 9:00 PM

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