The Cabaret Chronicles: Cait Doyle, Christine Pedi & more!
By: Jenna Esposito Mar. 20, 2009
Happy Spring! What a great way to start the weekend (well, minus the snow that's currently swirling around NYC)! I've had another entertainment-filled week - read on for the details!
On Friday, March 13th, I headed to the Duplex to see Cait Doyle in her show Hot Mess In Manhattan and I had an absolute blast! The show is original, clever, engaging and witty - not to mention extremely well-performed. Accompanied by musical director Vince Peterson on piano and Dan Delaney on cello, Cait winds her way through a terrific lineup of songs which give the audience a glimpse of her "messy" life. One of the coolest parts of the show is that about half of the songs were commissioned by Cait specifically for this show! The opening number, "Mess" is a fun, catchy song which was written for the show by Ryan Scott Oliver. "Text Message Song," written for the show by Drew Gasparini, was another standout - cleverly written and a great look at the difficulties of dating in today's high-tech society. While most of the show highlights Cait's comedic skills, a few selections, such as "Lifetime" by Julianne Wick Davis and "Coffee" by Michael John LaChiusa, also give her a chance to show off some more serious acting chops. Nearly as entertaining as the songs are the anecdotes which accompanied them! For instance, at one point, Cait was describing how she'd kidnapped the dog of the guy she was dating because she wanted more attention. Well, the dog got "rescued" but left Cait with a special gift - a flea-ridden apartment! She held her arms up in the light, and, sure enough, there were flea bites all over the place! Hot Mess In Manhattan is ongoing; from month to month, the songs will vary, based on the particular "messes" Cait is going through at the time, and she continues to commission new work from contemporary songwriters - so the show will never be exactly the same twice! It's a great concept, executed beautifully. In my book, it definitely ranks as a "must-see" (and believe me, I'll be seeing it again)! Her next show is on this Saturday, March 21st, at 9:30 p.m. If you plan on going, though, you'd better call ahead for reservations - this talented gal has been selling out consistently (and deservedly so)!I actually took the weekend off from showgoing, but was back in action Monday, when I took in a great doubleheader at Birdland! First up, it was talented songstress/Forbidden Broadway diva Christine Pedi in her show Winging It At Birdland. Accompanied by musical director Matthew Ward on piano, Ms. Pedi put on a thoroughly entertaining show. Although she is renowned for her spot-on impersonations of various leading ladies, Christine performed most of the show in her own voice, which was a rare treat! The songs she selected, she said, were songs that she's collected over the past twenty years and that she hadn't performed in a while (or ever!). The result was an eclectic program ranging from jazzy to brassy to touching. One of my favorite selections was Christine Lavin's "Air Conditioner," which showed off Ms. Pedi's sultry lower register and jazz sensibilities. Another highlight for me was Christine's rousing performance of "Goody, Goody," which she loaded up with plenty of venom and delivered to great comic effect! As terrific as the entire show was, the finale was a brilliant, tour-de-force performance of Christine's impersonations of SIXTEEN different women singing the songs of Chicago. Oh, yes - Bette Davis, Joan Rivers, Paula Deen (!), Georgia Engel, Eartha Kitt, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Katherine Hepburn, Elaine Stritch, Patti LuPone, Judge Judy, Julie Andrews, Cher, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, and Carol Channing were all uncannily channeled through Christine - it was absolutely incredible! What a great cap to an already terrific show!
Next up, it was another great Cast Party! With host Jim Caruso and the fab Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Tedd Firth on piano, Steve Doyle on bass and Steve Bakunas on drums) holdin' down the fort, it was a smorgasbord of all kinds of talented people gracing the Birdland stage! Broadway favorite Eden Espinosa did a few numbers, Italian crooner Andrea Balducci (who's well on his way to becoming a regular!) treated us to "Quando, Quando, Quando" (sung in Italian, of course!), talented guitarist/vocalist David Goldman treated us to a smooth "Manha de Carnaval" (sung in Portugese!), and Joe Bachana, the host of Metrojam (the monthly open mic at the Metropolitan Room), delighted the crowd with a swingin' "Witchcraft!" There were also plenty of favorite regulars, like Rob Langeder (who did a great, super-jazzy "Moody's Mood"), Sue Matsuki (who also jazzed it up with "Speaking of Happiness") and William Blake (who KILLED with his "At Last")! Overall, a highly enjoyable evening!
On Tuesday, March 17th (yep, that would be St. Patrick's Day!), I managed to squeeze in Ben Cherry's 6:30 p.m. show at Don't Tell Mama before celebrating the holiday at O'Flaherty's, conveniently located right across the street! I'd seen Ben's show, I Hate New York:...a love story, in its first incarnation last year, and was very much looking forward to seeing it again! This go-round was directed by Lennie Watts, and I really enjoyed seeing how much it had grown from last year! Towards the top of the show, Ben said that he was afraid, visiting the material a year later, he would be in a different place in his life and not able to relate to it as well. However, he said, his fears were allayed, and he was simply "infusing the show with a bonus year of New York City angst!" The crowd full of New Yorkers laughed appreciatively at this, as we all know far too well the love-hate relationship that most of us have with our dear city. Packed to the gills with songs about the frustrations and the joys of living in the city (Irving Berlin's "Manhattan Madness," "Lonely Town," "You Don't Get To Quit Your Day Job"), the show ends with "I Happen To Like New York," and Ben proudly announcing that he is officially a New Yorker (even though he's just shy of the "required" 10 years of living here!). The show is charming, engaging, well-sung, and, for an audience full of city dwellers, very easy to relate to!
Last night (Thursday, March 19th), I was pleased to be part of the lineup at Grace Notes: Singers' Soiree at Don't Tell Mama. This monthly show, hosted and produced by Grace Cosgrove, always boasts a great lineup of singers and is a wonderful way for audience members to get introduced to a wide variety of performers in one fell swoop! Last night's theme was Flower Power: Music of the 60's, and I was honored to be sharing the bill with Julie Reyburn, Steven Ray Watkins, Stearns Matthews, Lennie Watts, Billie Roe, and Grace Cosgrove, herself! The song selections were terrific - there was everything from the Beatles to Bacharach to Joni Mitchell, and all of the performers did a bang-up job! Luckily, I went at the top of the show, so I could just kick back, relax, and enjoy everyone else's performances (and believe me, I did)!
After Grace Notes, I headed over to the Time Out New York Lounge to catch Julian Yeo's last set with his fabulous retro-jazz band (Jesse Gelber on piano, Doug Largent on bass, Kevin Dorn on drums, and Alan Grubner on violin. I always enjoy seeing Julian and his band (in fact, I just wrote about them in this column a few weeks ago!) and last night was no exception. They have an authentic, old-school jazz sound which is immensely easy to listen to and they play a great variety of songs. Traditional standards such as Weill's "September Song" are mixed in with lesser known beauties like Ellington's "Early Autumn," and they're all delivered with a smooth, easy style. They're at the TONY Lounge every other Thursday, so if you're in the neighborhood, definitely stop in and check them out!
Where I'm going this week...
Saturday, March 21st: Joe Bachana in High Hopes: Songs from my Childhood at the Metropolitan Room. The popular host of Metrojam will be putting on this show with help from a chorus of five children (including his two little girls!), as well as a few adult backup singers (I'm one of them!), his lovely wife Nancy, and musical director John DiPinto. It's a happy, family-friendly show, and should be a heck of a lot of fun! The show begins at 7:30.
Shawn Ryan at the Metropolitan Room. After Joe Bachana's show, I'm sticking around to hear this talented L.A.-based singer comedian in one of his rare NYC performances! Show begins at 9:45 p.m.
Sunday, March 22nd: The Algonquin Salon - FREE singer/songwriter/musician soiree in the lobby of the famed Algonquin Hotel. This Sunday is the Algonquin Salon's 1-year anniversary celebration, which will be featuring performances by many of the talented performers that have co-hosted the Salon over the past year. Hosted by Mark Janas, with special appearances by Aaron Kaburick, Raissa Katona Bennett, Maureen Taylor, Sue Matuski and more! From 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Get there early to sign up if you want to sing!
Monday, March 23rd: Cast Party at Birdland! Hosted by Jim Caruso, this fantastic open mic runs from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. but again, make sure you get there early to sign up if you want to sing!
Wednesday, March 25th: theSet NYC at the Time Out New York Lounge. This will be my first time checking out this variety program of up-and-coming singers, comedians, dancers, songwriters and magicians at the hip TONY lounge. The program this Wednesday includes model Kai Raziq, comedian Rob O'Reilly, magician Nick Ignazzi, and comedian Liz Miele.
Have a great week and check back for another update next Friday!
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