Review: THE LINEUP WITH SUSIE MOSHER at Birdland Theater Retains Its Sparkle After Four Years

When a show has an extremely long run, it's good to go back every now and then and check in on things. THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher has, indeed, been enjoying a good long run. This variety show that took the community by storm before the pandemic came back after the lockdown like it was on steroids, winning awards and playing to sold-out houses in the Main Room at Birdland, which is significantly more seats to sell than the show's more regular home, the Birdland Theater. Once the industry, artists, and audiences got their land legs back under them, Susie Mosher's show moved back into the basement, but so did the sold-out crowd from upstairs, which means she and her weekly lineup of guests have been playing to at-capacity crowds ever since.

As well they should.

This writer took a night off from seeing new shows and new talents to revisit this old friend that gets a weekly Broadway World Cabaret Photo Flash, courtesy of Susie Mosher's various photographic documentarians, to see what Susie's improvisational Opening Number is expounding upon these days, how Lon Hoyt is enjoying his time as Musical Director of the program, and what variety of guest artists Susie is collecting for her show, after a few years of success.

And I am happy to report that THE LINEUP is in great shape.

Mosher (no relation) remains a special force and special talent in the industry, able to throw out her manic in-your-face comedy (at an eleven) for eighty non-stop minutes, and then close out her show with a heartfelt ballad, all the while acting as an impeccable hostess and Mistress of Ceremonies. Her talent as an actor aside, what makes Susie Mosher the perfect person for this gig is a one-two punch that comes directly fout of the act of caring. One: she puts extreme amounts of care into the vetting of her guests and the curating of variety in her show. And Two: she cares about the people on the stage with her. For the first facet, Susie goes out in search of a wonderfully diverse group of actors for the evening. On Tuesday night, Mosher presented a musical theater baritone, a cabaret actress, a piano bar belter, a stand-up comic, a singing comedy puppeteer, a Broadway balladeer, a bonafide icon of the movies, a Vaudevillian, an up-and-comer, and an act so weird that a table of Italian tourists at a table ringside sat, stunned, trying to figure out what it was they were seeing, the light from the stage spilling over onto their incredulous faces. And Susie Mosher introduced each artist to the stage with equal respect and adoration. She interviewed every person who got up onto the stage with genuine interest in hearing their story, and authentic excitement about sharing them with her audience. She loves people, she loves talent, and she loves this job.

She also loves her band.

THE LINEUP band is (usually, because sometimes artists book out, necessitating a sub) Clint de Ganon on drums, John Miller on bass, and Lon Hoyt Musical Directing from the piano. Together with Susie they are a group of aerialists, trapeze artists flying through the air and catching each other. Watching them work is exciting, watching how the men watch Susie is telling (they have her back, at every turn, like protective older brothers), and the sounds they produce are insanely supreme. And the gentlemen adapt well to each new artist, to each new style, and to every surprise that bubbles to the surface, whether it is one of Susie's improvs or something akin talong the lines of a dancing trombone player. It's a family affair, at The Lineup, and they are firing on all six cylinders.

For this final performance of 2022 (Susie has booked some high-profile work for the holidays with Christian music legend Sandi Patty, and The Lineup is being taken off until the new year), all bets were off, and each act showcased inspired big reactions from the audience. Jesse Luttrell thrilled with "Only In New York" (Jesse has a show at The Triad February 25th), Josephine Sanges impressed with "My Man" (Josephine is at The Laurie Beechman with her Fanny Brice show on Friday - tomorrow -11/18), Bryce Edwards wowed with his rare 102-year-old ukulele (Bryce is at Don't Tell Mama January 21st), Gianmarco Soresi split sides with a HI-HO-Larious comedy set (Gianmarco is everywhere, find him on his social medias), Amy Irving hit one out of the park while testing the cabaret stage waters (Amy has a new album coming out, and a show March 4th at Outpost In The Burbs in Montclair), T. Oliver Reid melted hearts with "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" (T. Oliver is a creative on HADESTOWN and DEATH OF A SALESMAN), Leslie Carrara-Rudolph and Lolly Lardpop cracked everyone up with an act that defies description (Leslie continues her work on Sesame Street), Tara Martinez stunned with an Adele song (Tara continues her work at Don't Tell Mama and in shows booked for other states), Jonathan Arons played trombone and sang while doing aerobics (Jonathan plays on Thursdays at The Red Lion with The Up All Nighters), and newcomer to the industry, Meg Colton, slayed (SLAYED - seriously, she sang five words and there was a collective gasp from the audience, followed by whistles) with her first-ever appearance on the Birdland stage. Colton is one to watch.

And so is The Lineup With Susie Mosher.

The club and cabaret industry is so lucky that this powerhouse performer had this wild idea, so lucky that Jim Caruso got her in the door at Birdland, so lucky that the people came and that they keep coming (seen in the audience on Tuesday night: Marilyn Maye, Lorna Dallas, Michael Kirk Lane, Robbie Rozelle, Susie Clausen, Zoë Van Tieghem, Richard Hillman, Goldie Dver, and Hope Royaltey). And they keep coming because the quality of the programming, the entertainment, and the entire LINEUP team is unbeatable. This is cabaret, this is New York, this is not to be missed.

THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher is on hiatus and will return in January 2023. In the meantime, great shows can be found on the Birdland website HERE, including the iconic Jim Caruso'S CAST PARTY, every Monday night and the annual favorite A SWINGING BIRDLAND CHRISTMAS, which runs December 20th THROUGH Christmas Day.

Reserve for Cast Party HERE.

Reserve for Swinging Birdland Christmas HERE.

Jesse Luttrell

Josephine Sanges

Bryce Edwards

Gianmarco Soresi

Amy Irving

T. Oliver Reid

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph and Lolly Lardpop

Tara Martinez

Jonathan Arons

The Drawing of the Raffle and the Raffle Winner, Zoë Van Tieghem!

Meg Colton

Susie Mosher and Co.

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

To post a comment, you must register and login.