Review: Norbert Leo Butz Does His 'Girls, Girls, Girls' Proud at Feinstein's/54 Below

"I hope you're not here to be entertained."

Norbert Leo Butz was all about managing expectations as he kicked off his week-long stint at Feinstein's/54 Below on August 5, though he had no reason to be worried. The two-time Tony Award winner (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Catch Me If You Can) has already done the hard part: The original 2013 incarnation of his show Girls, Girls, Girls was such a success, he's back for more, coinciding with the release of an album of the same name via Broadway Records.

Mötley Crüe reference aside, the title actually stems from the fact that Butz is constantly surrounded by women in his life, from his wife and three daughters, to his manager, to his 17 nieces.

To better understand the women in his life, he began studying classic female archetypes in the form of Greek goddesses, and like Athena out of Zeus's head, his act was formed. Each musical number is meant to represent one mythological figure. In honor of the aforementioned goddess of war, Butz kicked things off with a faithful rendition of The Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Part 1." Later on, following the tale of Gaia's retribution against Uranus, he flawlessly covered Shawn Colvin's sole hit single. (Because "Sunny Came Home" with a vengeance. Get it?)

If anyone entered the room thinking they would, in fact, not be entertained, apropos of Butz's intro, he was quick to change their mind. His confident rendition of Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom" (don't laugh, it was Grammy-nominated) was a total crowd-pleaser, particularly after he stepped off-stage to invite a woman to dance with-and spank-him. He asked for her name, and when she revealed it was "Carolyn," she was treated to an impromptu burst of "Sweet Caroline," with her named subbed in for the title character's name, of course, for being "a good sport." Props to his band, the Ladyboners (Musical Director Michael J. Moritz, Jr. on the piano, James Leahey and Billy LaGuardia on guitar, Adam DeAscentis on bass and Khaled Tabbara on drums) for being ready to deploy that one at a moment's notice.

Whereas his eclectic song selection proved more playful than precise, occasionally Butz's obedience to the one-goddess-narrative-per-song structure wore out its welcome. With Sinead O'Connor's "In This Heart," Butz showed off his incredible range, performing the opening bars a cappella. But before harmonizing with one of his bandmates on the latter half of the track, he paused to tell yet another goddess tale, losing the emotional intensity of the ballad, if only for a few moments.

Still, Butz masterfully moved from genre to genre, from his twangy take on the Kenny Rogers classic "Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town" to his truly electric cover of Dexys Midnight Runners' wedding staple "Come On Eileen."

When not singing, Butz's charm felt most fully realized in moments that appeared to be improvised, as he joked about how warm he was onstage. "You know it's bad when the band starts handing you towels," he cracked at one point.

Few of the songs had the audience more than swaying or mouthing the words in solidarity, but Butz's "neurotic [and] manic" energy had them enraptured nonetheless. In particular, his breathtakingly confident take on "Wig in a Box" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch elevated the entire performance. Based on the crowd's near-euphoric reaction, fans will be begging for another revival of the John Cameron Mitchell musical- or that he'll join the national tour, should Darren Criss, at any point, choose to hang up his wig.

As the show drew to a close, Butz spoke about a night when he went for a run and accidentally began playing his music in alphabetical order. Two songs played back-to-back that, in his mind, "book-ended the 20th century of feminism": "Sweet Lorraine" by Cliff Burwell and Mitchell Parish, and "Sweet Lorraine" by Patty Griffin (different songs, despite the shared name).

The pair lead him to reflect on his relationships with women and, eventually, inspired his act. Since he was 13, he's been "following a woman around" in one form or another, looking to these relationships for strength and guidance. As far as his career is concerned, if Girls, Girls, Girls is any indication, he's already taken the lead.

Norbert Leo Butz continues Girls, Girls, Girls at Feinstein's/54 Below through August 12.

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