Review: Charles Busch Makes the Familiar Feel Newly Personal at 54 Below

I’ve heard Johnny Mercer’s lyrics sung hundreds of times by countless performers, but somehow, hearing Charles Busch illustrate and sing those words made me hear them—and feel them—in an entirely different way last night during his show “Charles Busch Sings Johnny Mercer” at 54 Below.

I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised by my reaction to his performance. Actor and playwright Charles Busch is a master of theatrical melodrama, and I’ve long been a fan of his Facebook posts, where he has a remarkable way of describing the ordinary details of everyday life with imagination and wit. He makes the familiar feel newly personal. His song list last night was musically challenging, and opening with the Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer classic “Skylark” immediately drew us into the intimate world of Charles.

When Charles spotted Eda and me sitting with Michele Lee, he shared an emotional story about 9/11. Michele, a close friend of Charles’s, had starred in his play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, which was playing on Broadway during those terrible days. His story brought a deeply personal moment to an evening filled with music, memories, and laughter.

We heard so many of our favorite Johnny Mercer songs last night—“Charade,” “Moon River,” “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” “Blues in the Night,” “I’m Old Fashioned,” and others. But there is one song, written by Peter Allen, that best sums up the evening for me: “Everything Old Is New Again”…especially in the hands of Charles Busch.

Jono Mainelli music director provided the perfect accompaniment for Charles, and his classical pianist’s touch added the appropriate musical  backdrop to the evening.  Ashley Austin Morris a very funny comic was a wonderful interlude and guitarist Jimmy Stull were guest artists.

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