Review: FABULOUS FIRST FRIDAYS at Pangea Lives Up To Its Name

Created in 2019 as a Gay Pride event, FABULOUS FIRST FRIDAYS quickly evolved into a monthly variety show playing Pangea on the first Friday of every month, and the hit show was building a following when the pandemic hit. Reopening Friday last and one show in, Fabulous First Fridays is back with a vengeance and packing them in at the downtown club. The original production having been produced and curated by Gerry Geddes, Fabulous First Fridays developed from the drawing board into a repertory company presenting an hour-plus of performances representative of the type to be found on a cabaret stage. Geddes assigns a theme, sometimes strongly suggesting numbers that he (per his admission after Friday's show) "just wants to hear them sing" and the team of men is off to the races. Yes, it is a repertory company of men which, at first blush, might seem a bit exclusive, but when the act was first created (as a Pride event) Mr. Geddes curated a show representing his experience as a gay male, and that was one that featured other gay males. Today, as Fabulous First Fridays takes its first steps back onto the Yellow Brick Road, the company is made up of (mostly) gay men, and Geddes is eyeballing a future evening of strictly female talent. As a show, Fabulous First Fridays is still a toddler, it is still in the growing stages, and it is sure to evolve and change. In fact, it was interesting to see an evening of all-male talent because cabaret is an entertainment industry that does stand on the shoulders of The Ladies: when one thinks of cabaret, it is impossible for the mind to not, first, go to Marilyn Maye, Natalie Douglas, Karen Mason, and the late, great Pearl Bailey and Julie Wilson. It was fun getting to spend ninety minutes with The Boyz on Friday night, getting to know some talents that were new to me and make notes on whose act I should keep an eye out for; I don't have to do that with the girls. I know who the women of cabaret are, when they are performing, and whether or not I should be there - and though Gerry should continue to think along the lines of inclusivity (perhaps scheduling female, trans/non-binary, and drag - as he has done in the past - into every other month), there is no reason why Fabulous First Fridays shouldn't stay, at its core, an evening of entertainment presented by gay men. After all, what they put on the Pangea stage Friday night was an absolute delight.

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of Pangea, Mr. Geddes introduced, for two numbers split up into acts, singers Brian Childers, Matt Di Pasquale, George Winters, Billy Lykken, and Andre Montgomery, songwriter Wells Hanley, and (for one long segment) non-binary magician Patrick Swailes Caldwell. With very little chat from host Geddes and the always spectacular piano skills of Yasuhiko Fukuoka, each of the artists had their shot at the microphone, usually making good choices in their material, to show their versatility (like Lykken's hilarious take on "The Ladies Who Lunch" - brilliantly arranged by Rick Skye - contrasted by a straight-forward bluesy "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good") and each of the gentlemen charmed their audience while showing off that which is most uniquely them. The handsome Mr. Childers appears to be a crooner with a propensity for homey music by artists like Mary Chapin Carpenter and The Indigo Girls, while a quirky George Winters leans into comedy numbers that he, himself, has had a hand in creating - he scored a real hit with an upbeat performance of his hilarious "Pretty Little Dress," and while Andre Montgomery is matched to a pretty ballad like the Mencken & Pitchford tune "Sailing On", where he lives is in numbers like "Too Old To Die Young" that give him the chance to make others laugh with his flamboyant flair for the funny.

Wonderfully interesting to the evening's proceedings was Wells Hanley whose podcast about songwriting, I WROTE THIS SONG FOR YOU, provides him with a unique format for a show like this: the discussion of the creation of the song, followed by the song itself. Even more interesting to the evening was the inclusion of Patrick Swailes Caldwell's magic act - a few minutes of comedic chit-chat accompanied by some impressive sleight of hand, all performed by a playful person with a plethora of personality; it was one of the highlights of the evening, so much so that this writer now has a Google alert to notify of Caldwell's upcoming performances.

The highlights of the evening, though, were Matt Di Pasquale's contrasting performances of a comedic spin on the Berlin tune "What'll I Do" and the heartbreaking "Angels, Punks & Raging Queens", and two spoken performances from Geddes himself. Di Pasquale acquitted himself beautifully with the numbers from both ends of the spectrum, showing himself to be a musical storyteller to watch, while Gerry went full-on The Moth with drag-themed chapters from his upcoming memoir. Reading from his loose-leaf pages, Geddes demonstrated not just his ability at narrative storytelling, he also showed his prowess as a storyteller; this is not an easy performing art, and those who cannot master it quickly lose their audience to text messaging, napping, or the worst thing of all, conversation. Gerry Geddes held his audience in the palm of his hand, which is where they should be because the pages are good, especially in Gerry's own voice.

It's a casual night at Fabulous First Fridays and patrons should feel happy in knowing that there is a place for them to sit back and relax, prepare for fun and antics, have a bite or a drink, and just hang out with The Boyz. Indeed, the program is well named because it was fabulous, just the way a Friday night out should be. As the variety show continues with each month, getting back its post-pandemic land legs, as Gerry and his Rep Company fine-tune their aesthetic and implement some special programming to make the series more inclusive, they are going to have a series built to last. As it is, Fabulous First Fridays is already poised to be the not-to-miss series of downtown nightlife, and that's pretty good for a show that just had two years off. After all, what could be more festive than a bunch of gay guys gathering around a piano to have some fun in a cabaret room?

How fabulous.

Fabulous First Fridays plays Pangea on the first Friday of every month. Get information and tickets for this and other great shows at the Pangea website HERE.

The cast of Fabulous First Fridays gets a five out of five microphones rating for performing their entire show without the use of a lyric sheet, tablet, or music stand.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

To post a comment, you must register and login.