Review: SIDNEY MYER Presents Performance Perfection at Pangea

At the December 5th opening of his new show at Pangea, Sidney Myer could hardly make his way to the stage, that is how full the cabaret room at the downtown eatery was. That tells you two things - first, that Sidney Myer doesn't need this review; second, that everyone wants to see Sidney Myer. The fans want to see Sidney Myer, the public wants to see Sidney Myer, and the colleagues want to see Sidney Myer. A glance around the room (more like a study, since there were so many people that a person had to squint to see all the faces) showed the likes of Ian Herman, Goldie Dver, Bryce Edwards, Helane Blumfield, Tim Connell, Dorian Woodruff, and Kim David Smith, all there in dedicated support of this man who is an idol and role model to everyone working in the cabaret and concert community. Indeed, watching them watch him for the seventy-five minute show was as fulfilling as the performance itself because it was visible, tangible proof of the power of great entertainment and right and proper storytelling.

Sidney Myer is a great entertainer and a right and proper storyteller.

Freshly coiffed and as spry and fresh as a man just home from holiday, Mr. Myer charged the stage with the contained and controlled energy of a modern-day Mae West, all innuendo and double-entendre for several of the comedy numbers that have been the mainstay of his cabaret aesthetic. Some of the songs being performed are new to the ears, while others are classics for the Vaudevillian, numbers that no Sidney Myer cabaret would be complete without, like "It's So Nice To Have A Man Around The House" and "Good Advice," which Myer, wisely, saves for the end of the evening, keeping the excitement level at a consistent high, while the audience awaits the delicious moment when these favorites arrive on the scene. Up until that moment, though, the laughs are plentiful... well, that's not really right. It might be more accurate to say that the howls are plentiful. Mr. Myer is one of the funniest humans on earth, and naturally so, but he has also perfected the comic timing and physicality of every number he does that will lean into the funny. Some songs are specifically written for laughs (like "A New Year's Love Song"), some are re-written for laughs (like Myer's take on "Santa Baby") and some are just written, but, when held in Sidney's hands, become laughs (literally any other song that might catch Sidney's eye).

Until the business of ballads is in the spotlight.

For as much character as Sidney Myer brings to the comedy numbers that he, so, clearly favors, that is as much delicacy as he can bring to lovely compositions like "Indiana" and "Dance With Me" (both highlights in an evening of excellence). Sidney Myer's abilities as a performer lie at the magical intersection where training meets instinct, and that is why he is able to settle himself in the pathos pocket, where you find your chest swelling over genuinely displayed emotions coming from a performer, immediately after they have drawn tears (as Myer does with side-splitting performances like "Nothing For You," another highlight in his programming). It's a balance that other artists achieve but that nobody masters in quite the same way as Miraculous Myer, who just happens to be one of the great entertainers of our time, perhaps of any time. Sidney has, often, spoken of the influence on his life of the greats, people like Piaf and Dietrich, Kitt and Garland, people hailed as original, artists considered special. Well, like his idols, Sidney Myer is an original, Sidney Myer is special. And that's the reason that his shows always sell out - because it's important to see the special people when you can. It's important to see the rare, the unique, the original - all things that Sidney Myer is, and not just in his performing talent, but in his ability to find, to chose, to curate material that will wear his talent well, and vice-versa. Working alongside longtime director Peter Schlosser (nearly five decades) and devoted Musical Director Tracy Stark (with Amazing Tom Hubbard and Ray Marchica on bass and drums, respectively), Sidney Myer knows the intricate details of creating a club act and, more specifically, creating a club act that doesn't just reflect his brand, his aesthetic, his style, but that shows it all off to the greatest effect. The madcap facial expressions, the fluidity of his dance moves (yeah, dance moves), the moments of joy, the seconds of sorrow, the umbrage, the disbelief, the wistfulness, the wonder, and the ever-present sexuality and silliness - it's all Sidney Myer, and it's all in the show, from that first bursting onto the stage to that last humble curtain call bow. It's all Sidney Myer, and it's enough. And that is why the people go, and go again, over and over.

And it's why, dear reader, you should go, too.

Sidney Myer will play Pangea on December 19, 22, and 31. For information and reservations visit the Pangea website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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