Rena Strober: Spaghetti and Matzo Balls

Rena Strober made headlines a few years ago when a man was shot at the legendary Italian restaurant Rao's for allegedly heckling her while she sang along with a jukebox. There is, of course, more to the story than those simple facts, and there is more to Strober than that one story. In her charming, witty, and surprisingly emotional one-woman musical-cum-cabaret Spaghetti and Matzo Balls, now running at the Triad, Strober shares anecdotes about her Jewish family, her Italian famiglia, and the songs that can touch a heart in any language.

Those looking for salacious details about The Incident will be sorely disappointed by this show. Rather than capitalize on sensation, Strober has wisely chosen to tell not one story, but many from her life and career. In doing so, she becomes an endearing Everywoman: another talented actress struggling to make it on Broadway, another single Jewish woman avoiding the Yenta-ing of her grandmother while searching for love on her own. But for the anecdotes involving Rao's, the stories seem rather universal for a New York actress. The heart of the show isn't The Incident, or even the famous people she got to schmooze with at the famous restaurant. It's the journey of self-discovery and identity that gives Spaghetti and Matzo Balls its emotional core, and makes it easy for anyone who has struggled to find their place to sympathize with Strober's trials.

Blessed with a clear and powerful voice that needs no amplification (and gets none- she fills the Triad with an all-natural sound), Strober sings opera, pop, jazz, showtunes and folksongs in Yiddish, Hebrew and Italian with equal skill, weaving the songs into the narrative gracefully-- and, best of all, to good dramatic effect. (No songlist was provided before the concert, and the hostess at the Triad explained that Strober wanted the songs to be a surprise. Wise of her—much of the humor comes from discovering what number fits what story.) With her quick wit, the uptempo songs are bright and lively, and with her dramatic strengths, the ballads are powerfully poignant. Dean Strober's direction keeps the energy and humor up, and never lets the show become too serious for its own good. William Hindin's music direction sets the mood for each moment, and nicely underscores (pun intended) the emotional arc of the story.

While the Triad may not have the notoriety of Rao's or the guest list of the Friar's Club (where Strober now performs), it is an ideal spot for 80 minutes of songs and stories, and "Rena the Voice" seems perfectly at home there. That, ultimately, is the happiest of all possible endings to her story: she is right where she belongs, and doing what she does best.

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