BWW Reviews: Raissa Katona Bennett & Kenneth Gartman's Frenetic Homage to Late 20th Century Movie Music Doesn't Quite Lift Us Up Where We Belong

Veteran cabaret performer Raissa Katona Bennett and Musical Director Kenneth Gartman are very good friends who for the past few years have been performing together in what might be called the cabaret equivalent of movie shorts. But with 3Decades in the Dark: Raissa and Kenneth Go to the Movies (a five-show run that ended Feb. 21 at the Laurie Beechman Theater), Bennett and Gartman have finally presented their first feature length duo cabaret show. Both performers have garnered praise as individual performers in musical theater and cabaret. Bennett, who is the charming producer and host of the Award-winning Concerts for City Greens at Tudor City, once played Christine in Phantom of the Opera, and has performed solo shows at venues such as the old Feinstein's. Gartman, who recently musically directed The White City in concert at 54 Below, presented a highly praised solo show in 2011. Sounds like a match made in cabaret heaven, right?

But while 3Decades in the Dark combines the duo's shared love of comedy and song in a show based on spending their lives "in the dark," at the movies from the 1970s-'90s, the twosome crams so many songs into this compact show (there are solos, duets, and medleys--oh my!), I got mental whiplash trying to process all the emotions stirred up by the memory of every film these songs evoked. Bennett and Gartman hit the ground running, literally. As she ran around the stage in slow motion to the "Chariots of Fire" theme, they both assailed the audience with movie references, starting with playing the 20th Century Fox theme on trumpet-shaped kazoos. Then came a medley of Bennett brandishing props; Forest Gump's floating white feather, wildly slicing a houseplant into topiary with scissor-hands, and maniacally wielding a faux light saber.

Vocals started with "Moving Right Along" from The Muppet Show, including additional lyrics by the show's Award-winning director Lennie Watts, and the first third of the show careened across solos and extended banter to the inevitable James Bond mash up: Bennett took "For Your Eyes Only," while Gartman handled "Nobody Does it Better," working hard to connect with the audience while singing and playing piano. Gartman's talents shone in "Beautiful Maria of my Soul," a Latin-flavored tune from The Mambo Kings. The band grabbed focus here too, with drummer, Matt Vanderende keeping time infectiously, rhythmically hitting the rims, Matt Scharfglass locked in on electric bass, and Bennett contributing on the flute. Bennett followed with an unexpected solo choice from A Star is Born, the sexy, fun "Queen Bee," which she ruled like a queen in her shining moment of the night. Gartman added texture to the great Rupert Holmes song, hissing into his microphone at the piano.

Then grabbing a prop jeweled necklace and speaking with an exaggerated teeth chatter that actually chilled me, Bennett led the way as the duo manically spoofed Titanic, leading into the medley entitled "It's a Disaster," which spliced songs from cheesy disaster movies, such as Towering Inferno and Jaws. Taped sound effects, muddy and overly loud, were piped in to amplify the mood. Singing "The Morning After," made famous by Maureen McGovern in The Poseidon Adventure, Bennett dramatically pantomimed swimming through the air, magically held aloft by lying across a tall chair. An experienced actor, Bennett moved confidently through the skit, but the music got lost during the more elaborate theatrics. In contrast, she settled into the next ballad, standing still and center stage, for her solid rendition of John Williams and Leslie Bricusse's romantic song from 1978's Superman, "Can You Read My Mind." The duo then donned sunglasses for Huey Lewis' "Power of Love" (from 1985's Back to the Future) on which Gartman sang a strong lead and the band rocked.

After a mash up of power ballads from The Bodyguard (Whoa! It's risky business doing songs Whitney Houston made into chartbusters), the song team introduced their "Cutting Room Floor" medley, a veritable lightning round of songs that didn't make the show's final set list. It was a clever frolic through some of the most memorable hooks in late 20th century pop music, such as the theme song from the film 9 to 5, "You Light Up My Life" (from the film of the same name), "Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong," (from An Officer and a Gentleman), "The Wind Beneath My Wings" (from Beaches) and "Staying' Alive" (from Saturday Night Fever), to name a few. For the finale, Bennett and Gartman brought their set full circle, singing a mash up from The Muppet Movie-mostly "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" with a sprinkling of the familiar opening to "Rainbow Connection"-the friends sitting together at the piano. Overall, I found Gartman to be winning throughout, while Bennett, though personally delightful, often did not soar vocally. Still, the playfulness and camaraderie the duo exuded throughout the show was thoroughly engaging.

When you hear a classic movie song, a constellation of thoughts, memories, and feelings bursts into being. An entire era of one's life can be instantly invoked. Removed from their cinematic contexts, these heavy-hitting pop tunes roused the nostalgia of audience members' past coming-of-age, a powerful experience. 3Decades in the Dark benefitted from the Bennett and Gartman's choice not to take things or themselves too seriously, while still committing to the deeper material. However, with the frenetic stage activity and the inconsistent vocals the show frequently felt amateurish and was less polished than I expected given the performer's impressive bios. In spite of its significant flaws, 3Decades in the Dark is an imaginative, campy, messy, and fun escapade through some classic Hollywood movie songs of the late 20th century presented by two passionate performers.

May the force be with them.

Photo by Russ Weatherford

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