Review: Robbie Rozelle Returns To Birdland Theater With BRING ME GIANTS

Well, Robbie Rozelle has had quite a couple of weeks, hasn’t he?  First, he released a brand new single on digital platforms that got over a thousand streams in twenty-four hours, then he opened the Joe’s Pub Alexis Michelle show from the director’s chair, and two days later he played his one and only solo show of 2023 in the Birdland Theater.  It’s probably fair to say Robbie Rozelle has earned a rest but chances are he was right back at work the morning after opening BRING ME GIANTS.

Bring Me Giants is a rarely-heard song by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse from an unproduced musical of Cyrano de Bergerac and Rozelle chose it as the title of his show to represent his ongoing quest to challenge himself, in life and in his art.  Robbie Rozelle is not interested, he explained, in the little challenges of life - he wants the big ones, the windmills, for Cervantes fans, the quests that bring with them the utmost satisfaction. For example, he chose, for the topic of this show, anxiety.  And why not?  We all feel anxious, some of us more than others, and what better way to deal with anxiety than to make it a part of the conversation?  What better way to feel less isolated than to share the stories, and to do so in an intimate setting with a five-piece band?  And, as a storyteller, Robbie Rozelle knows how to do this in ways both illuminating and entertaining - maybe that’s why his shows are always at-capacity.  It is very rare to attend a Robbie Rozelle show and see more than three or five vacant seats… and sometimes not even that.  This Birdland show was usually well-attended, and a look around the room caught the faces of cabaret artisans like Robert Bannon, Rick Hinkson, Ari Axelrod, and Natalie Douglas.  It must feel very rewarding to have one’s colleagues show up in support, especially when their own work schedules can tend to be so very overwhelming.

And speaking of having people show up for you, Robbie Rozelle is, indeed, fortunate in his friendships, for his shows always include a somewhat, shall we say, fancy list of guest artists.  This occasion was not one during which Rozelle cut corners on his guest list, one that featured Book of Mormon’s Jordan Matthew Brown, prolific performer Mauricio Martinez, up-and-coming belting mother-to-be Allison Wilkes, and the iconic Broadway and concert star Liz Callaway.  That’s an impressive array of actors lining up to get onto the stage with one funny fellow singing for his supper, and it brought a sense of community and a sense of glamor to the proceedings, but, most of all, it brought a sense of family to the show.  More than once Robbie Rozelle mentioned family during his conversation with the audience, referencing his long relationship with his band, The Two Drink Minimum, and his Musical Director Yasuhiko Fukuoka.  From the onstage personnel to the guests to the audience, it was a family affair at Birdland Theater on June 29th, which is par for the course, since simply walking in the doors of the Birdland building feels like a family reunion, every time.

Rozelle’s musical programming was, as he promised, giant.  It is not his work model to go for the easy, though that is not an absolute - the setlist was not all mountains to be scaled.  For example, Robbie’s opening number was an appropriate “Hey There, Good Times” - appropriate because Robbie may sing a lot of Sondheim on a regular basis but in the opinion of this writer, he should sing more Cy Coleman because there are qualities of Coleman that match Rozelle’s aesthetic, from the bouncy rhythms to the slightly cynical optimism, to the sophisticated sexuality.   Robbie remarked during the show that, “Nobody wants to see my Gershwin show,” but it wouldn’t be so terrible or unheard of to see his Cy Coleman show.  It’s worth a thought or two.

As far as the giants go, when it comes to Robbie Rozelle’s musical programming for BRING ME GIANTS, yes, there were some challenges, some, as he puts it, “Big Swings.”  Robbie takes big swings, and some he hits, and some he misses.  For example, among the big swing hits were title track “Bring Me Giants,” which this writer was hearing for the first time, ever, and is looking forward to hearing again - perhaps Rozelle could record that next.  Robbie also got a rousing response from the audience after performing “Hold On” from The Secret Garden - indeed, some members of the audience could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.  Among the big swings and misses, there were some numbers during which Robbie had the same issues that every single club singer has had since the year one, and that’s ok.  He flubbed some lyrics to “What More Do I Need?” and that’s ok.  The song “Some People” got away from him, and that happens.  Robbie and the band seemed to be performing in two different tempos, where he couldn’t catch up with them and they were unaware that he was struggling - almost as if they couldn’t hear each other, which wouldn’t be a surprise, since there seemed to be something up with the sound mix for the evening.  There were any number of times that this writer with hearing aids worthy of The Bionic Woman could not hear Robbie Rozelle.  During the power numbers, there was a wall of sound between Robbie and the second row (where I was sitting), when all that could be heard was the band, a shame because it prevented me from hearing what sounds like a hilarious number by Luke Williams called “The Text Me Back Blues.”  And when Robbie did Wes Bourland’s brilliant Jason Robert Brown medley with Misters Martinez and Brown, their mics appeared to overpower his, a situation that re-occurred during the duet with Ms. Wilkes; the hilarious and fabulous “Anything You Can Do” duet with Liz Callaway was executed unblemished, thankfully.  Perhaps it was an erratic tech night, as there also appeared to be no changes in the light cues throughout the performance, and if that is the case, again, it happens.  This is live theater.  People stumble - all people, from headliner to musician to guest to tech, stumble - fortunately, it’s entertainment and not brain surgery.  Whatever the case may be, this writer couldn’t hear Robbie Rozelle during significant portions of his show.

Fortunately, my favorite version of Robbie Rozelle is the quiet one.

There is a tender, heartfelt, human quality that comes up onto the stage when Robbie Rozelle does a ballad.  Yes, Robbie Rozelle is funny, yes, he is big and bold, but Robbie Rozelle is more than just one thing, and when Robbie Rozelle sings songs like “Will He Like Me?” and “Mr. Tanner,” there is the sweetest vulnerability about him, a quality best described as holding a bird in your hand, and it comes along every now and then, like when Audrey Hepburn sang “Moon River” or Twiggy sang “If Love Were All.”  It’s all emotion, and honesty, with a total lack of pretense, all things this writer looks for in a musical storytelling performance, which is why I’m grateful for these moments in Bring Me Giants because this is the place where Robbie Rozelle lives where I am always happy, and that place made it into this show, along with the giants.  

Robbie Rozelle likes the giants.  He said it and he meant it.  And he will, most likely, keep tackling the giants because he has a big fanbase and a big family, and they keep showing up to support him, each time he rides to tilt with another windmill.  That’s a beautiful thing.  And even though BRING ME GIANTS was the only show Robbie Rozelle could squeeze onto his busy calendar this year, there is reasonable certainty that he will be back on stage in 2024 with more stories, more music, more family, and more big swings because Robbie Rozelle is, as Cabaret Scenes magazine once declared, fearless.  

Who better to battle the giants?

Find great shows on the Birdland website HERE.

Visit the Robbie Rozelle website HERE.

The BRING ME GIANTS band was Wes Bourland on Bass, Bobbie Lee Crow III on Cello, David Ashton Kjar on Reeds, Josh Roberts on Drums, and Musical Director Yasuhiko Fukuoka on Piano.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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