Review: Patrons Pack 54 Below For HALF AN EVENING WITH DAVID RASCHE

On the 54 Below website there is an event page for HALF AN EVENING WITH David Rasche, and the final sentence of the descriptive paragraph for the show is, “It’s a performance you will be happy to have seen.”  Well, nothing could, more accurately, describe what this writer saw and experienced on September 10th.  This is, indeed, truth in advertising, as evidenced by the roars of laughter and tumultuous applause echoing through the sold-out supper club.  David Rasche, it turns out, is quite the singer-songwriter.   This isn’t his first time doing this sort of show, in fact - in 2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret correspondent Bobby Patrick wrote such a glowing review of the film and TV star that I never forgot it.  So when I saw that Mr. Rasche was bringing back the show that had, so, wow’ed Bobby, I booked myself in to see it, post haste, and the first thing a person noticed about the evening was the impressive number of celebrity guests populating the venue.  Clearly, David Rasche has spread good will in every corridor of the industry in which he walks, for there were noted actors from the stage and from screens large and small, all there to see and support, and nobody was disappointed.  Half An Evening With David Rasche was a generous eighty minutes of wonderful storytelling.

For his musical cabaret, Mr. Rasche played only songs that he, himself, wrote.  There were no collaborators helping to create the words and the music - each and every song carries a sole writing credit for both words and lyrics, whether they be comedic numbers or soul-searching songs, both of which Rasche excels at.  In his dialogue with the audience, Mr. Rasche mentioned that he had been a member of Second City, and that some of these tunes dated back to that era in his life.  Well, it showed.  Some of the songs showcased his (very unique) sense of humor and comic timing, like opening number “Golf,” which wasn’t just a perfect way to start the show, it was a highlight in the proceedings… or his version of a love song, “Bossa Nova,” which lent itself perfectly to the Second City vibe, from the lyrics to the delivery to the sixty (ish)-second length.  In fact, so many of the songs performed had that quirky Rasche humor that David felt compelled to assure the audience that there would be serious songs, even offering a visual, a tell, if you will, to warn that the upcoming number would possess a quieter tone, one where laughter could be back burnered.  But that was, in and of itself, comedy.   There’s comedy gold to be mined, here, like the song “Your Fault” that was reminiscent of both Tom Lehrer and Christine Lavin.  That’s the thing about David Rasche, the singer-songwriter: he writes great songs, but not radio hits.  Every cut he performed on September 10th felt like that of an indie recording artist, particularly late-in-show entry “Love in Spring.”   It doesn’t feel like David Rasche writes in order to have a hit record or a Top 10 charter; it feels like David Rasche writes because he is an artist, a man composing songs that have constantly changing time signatures and internal rhymes that nobody else could think of, like the intricate “Have I Told You.”  Only the mind of David Rasche could come up with something like the hilarious “Let’s Play Doctor,” and “This Old Body,” both of which were standouts in the evening, for their hilarity, for their creativeness, but also for their relatability.   Everywhere you looked, you could see people laughing hysterically, while nodding their heads in agreement.   Many of Mr. Rasche’s songs had that relatable quality - kind of like a friend took the conversation they had with you and turned it into a song, or maybe even read your diary and did the same.  When it comes to the Rasche storytelling, it’s funny because it’s true.   Even the very specific, niche “Opening Night” is relatable because every single actor who has ever experienced forgetting their lines during their premier performance knows the story Rasche is building in his story oh-so-personal.

It isn’t all just about the humor, though.  David Rasche writes really lovely ballads, and not just lovely of melody, but of lyrics, too, like the gorgeous “Illinois,” a song so filled with visceral imagery as to be a piece of poetry saved as the ‘best for last’ - which is exactly what Rasche did:  the song was his encore.   Throughout the evening, Mr. Rasche lent the acting skills for which he is so famous to the heartfelt “Ordinary Joe” and the tender “June Afternoon,” but in order for actor to do the work, the lyricist had to get there, first, and these two compositions are prime examples of talent from the writer.  The latter of these two was a quiet reverie of a tune that displayed the sweet spot of Rasche’s pretty voice, a voice that is simple, straightforward and endearing - “June Afternoon” might be a song that Rasche might consider recording at some point, especially if he went into the studio with his magnificent Musical Director Isaac Harlan, who guided the evening with a mastery that cannot be bought.

Working alongside Maestro Harlan was one of the best bands you’ve ever heard, made up of Bassist Jerry DeVore, Trumpeter Alphonse Horne, Guitarist Sungwon Kim, Tenor Saxophonist Brian Krock, Drummer Joe Spinelli and Harmonicist Gary Schreiner, and it has to be said that they really (let’s bold it: REALLY) served to add ambiance to Rasche’s storytelling.  A good band is a beautiful thing to have, but Rasche and Harlan have gathered together a bang-on band that brought to life a lovely medley of the songs “Lonesome” and “Love Comes By Surprise,” and set the tone for a side-splitting “Never Gonna Work Again” that, once more, resonated with every actor in the room who has ever worried about where their next job was coming from.  As for Isaac Harlan, Rasche is, indeed, fortunate in this long-term artistic collaboration.  Harlan watched Rasche like a hawk and never missed a beat or an adjustment.  He conducted the orchestra with meticulous care, and he has provided Rasche with fantastic arrangements, including some sophisticated jazz treatments that allow David to veer into areas unexpected.  The duo is well matched, but, then, so is the team of David Rasche and Michael Schiralli, who is credited as the director for the piece.  Rasche and Schiralli have crafted a nifty cabaret script with connective tissue that leans into barely there throw-away rhetoric to bridge musical numbers and heavy-duty comedy bits (a bible-centered segment is a laugh riot), and always in that inimitable David Rasche style.  Whether speaking sincerely or laying down the laughs, the programming was all the David Rasche we’ve come to know and love on screen.  That’s what audiences want when they go to a club act or cabaret - to spend some time with the headliner, with the storyteller standing center, in all their individuality.  And the truth is, you don’t always get it - sometimes you leave a show not really knowing who you just saw.  That was not the case with HALF AN EVENING WITH David Rasche: from the self-penned material to the performance itself, every aspect of the show is authentic to Mr. Rasche, and that’s why you’re happy to have seen it, if you were one of the lucky ones to get to.  If not, there’s always next time.  Get there.

Find great shows to see on the 54 Below website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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