Review: Claybourne Elder Shares Engaging Testimony and Engrossing Songs for I WANT TO BE EVIL at Joe's Pub

On the first Sunday of every month, the Church of Latter-Day Saints hold a “fast and testimony” meeting in which members who choose to do so, fast during the day and give testimony in celebration of religious doctrine.  A week late in August, the self-proclaimed “gay ex-Mormon dad,” Claybourne Elder, chose the holy grounds of Joe’s Pub to give his own kind of testimony in relation to his aspirationally named show I Want to Be Evil.

The Broadway star (who confirms that when he was still part of the church he was Elder Elder) obviously means “evil” in terms more religious rather than criminal.  And his latest cabaret show is a celebration of cutting ties with his past, his seemingly charmed present life as a working actor on stage and screen, and a successful side hustle as the organizer of a unique nonprofit (more on that later).  

It's not lost on the Elder that he is performing his new show across the hall from the Newman Theater, where he made his off-Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s final major work, Road Show, in 2008, playing one of the composer’s few openly gay characters.  Elder was tasked with singing the oddly tensed love song “The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened,” which he thought was too high for him as written.  How the composer dealt with that concern, as relayed adoringly by Elder, is classic Sondheim. 

After that auspicious production, Elder has kept a connection with Sondheim, performing in productions of Sunday in the Park with George and Passion and culminating in his memorable performance in last season’s gender-reversed Company as Andy, the clothing-optional flight attendant.   Not sure if the gracious and enthusiastic audience at Joe’s Pub were Claybourne Elder converts from that show alone, or if any were like me, following him since Road Show to lesser known but still impressive turns in Classic Stage Company’s rare revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Allegro and as Clyde’s brother in the Broadway premiere of Bonnie and Clyde.  

This is all related humorously by Elder during this immensely enjoyable Joe’s Pub appearance in between showtunes and pop songs in equal measures.  With an invaluable assist by his musical director, Charlie Alterman, the evening was a successful blend of personal, heartfelt stories and songs with funny insights from the unique life of a young, closeted Mormon (who, as Elder rightly points out, is the “Catholic school girl of gay porn”) who transforms into the accomplished performer standing before us now.

Stories about having crushes on other classmates led to diverse songs like “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid and Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance with Somebody” while the crazy reason Elder goes to Russia, then, leads to a humorous but still emotional “Moments in the Woods” from Into the Woods.   His anecdotes about life as a performer include résumé songs from Road Show and Sunday in the Park with George, as well as a quick cameo from a costume from Company that gives the audience exactly what we want.

As much as I enjoyed the funnier but lesser known ditties like the title song, as well as the gay fantasy “Han Solo” by Will Aronson and Bill Nelson, the highlights have to be two songs very personal to Elder: “Hey Kid” from If/Then,  sung in relation to the birth of his own son with his husband Eric Rosen, and “How Glory Goes” from Floyd Collins, sung after telling the emotional story of how a stranger paid for a ticket for the then money-strapped Elder to see a Broadway show, which led to him creating City of Strangers, a nonprofit that buys Broadway tickets for those who can’t afford them.  I believe if this turns out to be his only professional legacy, Claybourne Elder is probably fine with that.

I Want to Be Evil is a wonderful showcase for Elder’s enormous interpretive talents as a singer, including a humorous love/obsession take on “The Street Where You Live,” as well as “Let’s Make Love on This Plane,” which helped him get into character in Company.   But then, Elder breaks out a fiddle for his encore and you wonder, what can’t this person do?  You can feel the trust the singer has for his accompanist, who supposedly only worked with Elder on the songs and was hearing the stories for the first time along with us.  The arrangements and performances are breezy when they need be and beautifully touching when Elder gets serious.  Charlie Alterman: chef’s kiss.

Ex-Elder Elder really should be proud of this show and how much he has accomplished, so far.  As for accomplishing what he set out to do in regard to the show’s title?  Despite a very dirty joke that ends the evening, Claybourne Elder is too good to be evil.

Claybourne Elder's INSTAGRAM page.

More info on City of Strangers.

What's coming up at Joe's Pub.

Photos by Cary Wong

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