BWW Reviews: Bridget Everett's Court Jester Cabaret Act at Joe's Pub is Hilarious and Pointedly Provocative

The court jester. The buffoon. The clown. In many societies through the ages, these figures have been considered sacred, especially in the theater. They are beloved characters because they highlight all the aspects of our humanity that polite society wants hidden away, suppressed, or repressed, namely our greedy sexual appetites, our "disgraceful" bodily functions, our immense vulnerabilities, and our wish to ridicule the powerful (and have them take our complaints seriously). The jester/fool had the ear of the king and pointed out searing truths while appearing inept. The buffoon embraces grotesqueness in such a way that we can release a modicum of shame at our own bodily betrayals.

Bridget Everett, performing a reprise of her one-woman cabaret show, Rock Bottom (at Joe's Pub for an limited run), has become the darling of the alt-cabaret scene because she occupies the clown/fool/buffoon space to the hilt, creating a hilarious and cathartic experience for those who can take it. Everett has not met a taboo she does not dare to decimate.

Rock Bottom is a seamlessly structured flow of songs and monologues-with a multi-media dimension included in some numbers-that loosely tell the story of a woman on a journey to hitting the depths. It's a series of ludicrous, deliriously funny vignettes chronicling the hazy, debauched odyssey of this earthy, larger-than-life woman from Manhattan, Kansas who made her way to a more famous Manhattan in her quest to become a singing star. Wearing a serial wardrobe of sloppily-fitting muumuu-cum-shower-curtain dresses and armed with a bottle of her beloved Chardonnay tucked under her arm, Everett fetishizes trash-class and celebrates her "I don't give a f*ck" modus operandi (maybe that should be modus oper-randy, with all of her enthusiastic references to genitalia and raunchy sex) by singing rollicking original songs in an exuberant and skillful belt. The lady-woman-has chops!

This fool, true to form, resides in the royal court as Everett's musical director on this show is Tony Award-winner Marc Shaiman, who's most recent successes include writing music and co-writing lyrics for the Broadway musical version of John Waters' Hairspray and the original music for the TV show Smash. Shaiman and his long time writing partner Scott Wittman teamed up with Everett to write the original songs for Rock Bottom. Shaiman plays piano and leads the excellent band during the show. The underscoring and incidental music they contribute creates a lush yet subtle emotional guide throughout and supports Everett's wild narrative flights.

Bridget Everett owns the spotlight from the moment she takes the stage. She is a magnificent presence, energetically commanding the attention of everyone in the room. She is a master of audience interaction, sometimes pushing the boundaries of that relationship to an uncomfortable point. She nicknames audience members, addressing her monologues to them throughout the show. She prowls through the jungle of tables on the floor, seeking her next prey. She is not afraid of contact; in fact, she invites it, pushes it, demands it. During her Friday, January 9 show, she made a man lick whipped cream off of her inner thigh, each dollop inching ever closer to her . . . well, you get the picture. The chosen patron participated perhaps too enthusiastically, but she handled the line-crossing moment with grace. This scene took place as Everett sang a song-the name of which is far too graphic for print-dedicated to Bill Cosby, about the need for consent when a man approaches a woman with sexual intent.

Rock Bottom does also provide moments of tenderness, as when Everett sheds the burlesque buffoonery for a more motherly persona. During another audience interaction, she chose a man-whom she nicknamed Patches-to fold into her arms, his head nestled between her bra-less breasts, and she swayed with him as she sang and stroked his head. Then she brought him on stage, got him to lie down with his legs up in the air so that she could mount his legs horizontally in a version of the airplane game. It was not a successful flight, which made the whole thing even funnier and more outrageous. That Everett sings powerfully throughout this entire interaction is a testament to her focus and vocal abilities.

Of course, one must not lose sight of the fact that Rock Bottom is--bottom line--a cabaret show. My favorite line of Everett's patter may have been "Oh yeah, I get d*ck; I do cabaret, don't I?" While she may be poking fun at the perception of the genre as the Broadway chorus singer's graveyard, she embraces the form as a medium for expressing deep emotion and provocative ideas. Everett sings her heart out, filling the room with sound, with her voice able to blast or soothe, depending on her intention.

Everett clearly has carved out a space for herself in the New York performance world and Joe's Pub (which commissioned Rock Bottom) supports her talent wholeheartedly, calling her in the program notes a "strong, bold, ground-breaking artist." In fact, on Friday night she had scurried to the show after opening for a comedian at Carnegie Hall. She has a recurring guest spot on the Comedy Central show Inside Amy Shumer, and has performed with Patti LuPone.

Bridget Everett is most certainly a star on the rise and I find myself hoping that as she continues her ascent, she will more fully embrace the character of the jester who speaks pointed truth to power. She is extremely funny and quick, able to respond spontaneously with wit and precision, and she wields her instrument nimbly. While it is an intoxicating romp to roll with a chick that reclaims grandly perverse sexual fantasies and crude bodily fluid jokes from the dudes, it would be exhilarating to see her grapple with more substantive political, gender-role-challenging material from her distinctly unconventional and powerful point of view. (And would it kill her to wear a bra?)

Rock Bottom runs multiple nights a week at 9:30 through February 20, 2015, at Joe's Pub. Check the club's website for exact dates and to purchase tickets.

ROCK BOTTOM
Created by Bridget Everett
Music & Lyrics by Bridget Everett, Marc Shaiman, and Scott Wittman
With Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, and Matt Ray
Directed by Scott Wittman

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