Review: JOHN SCHNEIDER Has Hits And Misses at The Green Room 42

“If it’s not fun, don’t do it!”

That was John Schneider during his performance at The Green Room 42 on Friday night.  The advertising for the December 5th show announced Schneider as “Dukes of Hazzard Icon and Broadway Veteran,” which is accurate advertising but sort of incomplete, as the audience (including live streamers) would learn, as the SHOW BUSINESS veteran told stories from his nearly five-decade-long career.  Mapping out some of the many things that have happened to him since he was cast as Bo Duke at the age of eighteen, Mr. Schneider touched upon his recording career and the fact that he had a few number-one releases in his time, that he wrote some of the songs that he has sung, and that he has a handful of movies available for viewing in various formats, that he wrote and produced.  A true blue show business storyteller, John Schneider is clearly more than just a Dukes of Hazzard icon and Broadway veteran… but in advertising, you have to lead with what the people know, so Bo Duke and Broadway it is.

His foray into cabaret and concert, Mr. Schneider explained to his intimate crowd of fans, was inspired by his Dukes of Hazzard co-star Tom Wopat’s own career in cabaret and concert, which would indicate that this is a relatively new form of storytelling for the gentleman.  The newness showed during his generous ninety-minute performance, but it also didn’t matter because Mr. Schneider is a natural.  He is a very good storyteller with very good stories to tell.  His reminiscences about Smokey and the Bandit, Jackie Gleason, and Burt Reynolds are gold, and his memories of Johnny Cash (including a seriously brilliant impersonation of The Man In Black) are solid gold.  The stories roll off his lips with ease and a joviality that makes you like him - the gentleman is extremely amiable.  It is a pleasure to listen to him talk about his life in the business of show.   It is also a pleasure to hear him sing, whether he is presenting songs from his recording career, trying his hand at songs he didn’t record but loves to sing, or throwing out some seasonal cheer, all of which happened on Saturday night.  He’s in great voice, and even though he mentioned being sixty-five a couple of times, this is not the voice of an old timer - John Schneider has clearly never stopped using his instrument since he released his first album in 1981.  His is a rich voice with strong technique and a powerful belt (in a wonderfully timed moment, he paused to take a sip of his drink before going for a big high note), and he will make a credible performer in the cabaret and concert field.

Before that can happen, though, Mr. Schneider might consider sitting down with his old friend, Tom Wopat, and discussing the finer points of presenting this kind of entertainment; if not Wopat, then somebody, because there are some elements of his program that need tightening up.   In spite of all of the good will incurred by being affable, a fine storyteller, and an accomplished singer, John Schneider spent a regrettably substantial amount of time during his program asking the audience to sit and watch videos with him.   Working his entire act solo (except for the lights and sound design, which fell to TGR42 Master Technician Sheridan Glover), Mr. Schneider repeatedly turned to a laptop perched on a bar stool to show videos on the monitor.  Some were music videos, some were short films, some were film clips, some were teaser reels, all of which he would call up on the device that had been cast to both of the monitors in the room, so that everyone could turn their attention away from the stage and the storytelling in order to watch the videos, the quality of which ran the gamut from good to pretty bad.  This repeated stopping and starting of storytelling effectively halted the momentum of what was a genuinely enjoyable show.   Just when he would get the momentum of storytelling back, he would play another video, sometimes hitting the wrong button and kicking off a video at the wrong moment, which not only affected the story arc, it gave the proceedings an air of amateurism.  John Schneider is a bona fide veteran and storyteller - he deserves to not have his show come across as amateur hour, and that isn’t what happened here.  The general feel caused by the inclusion of the videos savored of that time when you were in a college or community theater play and, moments after having completed a performance, having someone say, “Let’s go back to my house and watch the video of the show.”  Audiences don’t pay to sit in a room and watch videos - they pay to watch a live performance, which is something that a director might have told John Schneider.   During his curtain call thank you speech, Mr. Schneider did not call out a thank you to a director, and none of the advertising for the show named a director, so there is every bit of evidence that Mr. Schneider is at home plate all by himself, creating and controlling every aspect of his club act.  One might offer that every person who steps up onto the stage of a live performance venue should have a director guiding them or, at least, offering another set of eyes.  Even Barbra Streisand, the greatest star, has a director for her concerts.  Had Mr. Schneider been working with a director, he might have been able to present a more polished production at The Green Room 42.  Had he been working with a director, the director might have told him that watching videos at a live show is not fun for an audience - and, in his own words, if it’s not fun, don’t do it.

Foibles aside, though, it cannot be denied that this is a good venture for John Schneider.  With all the positive things he has going for him, from the stories to the narration, from the songs to the singing (and he is, clearly, a great guitarist, though he was working with some injured fingers, which hindered him only slightly), John Schneider has everything needed to take his place among the live music entertainers of show business.  He also has a lovely story that he shares late in his show, about finding love again after the loss of his wife.  There is a story that Schneider tells on his social media about him and his current wife, Dee Dee Sorvino, that becomes the penultimate story in his show.  It is a touching and heartfelt story filled with love and benevolence and hope, one that should resonate with anyone who hears it, thus touching hearts.  And that’s what live entertainment is about - touching people’s hearts or funny bones, and John Schneider has what it takes to do that.  All he needs now is a collaborator to help him polish off the rough edges, and he will be in business.

Find great shows to see at The Green Room 42 HERE.

Follow John Schneider on Instagram HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher