Review: THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWBOY Return to STERLING'S
Faith Prince and Jason Graae Triumphant at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal
When Faith Prince and Jason Graae first performed their show The Prince and the Showboy at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal in June, 2012, I wrote, "...there were enough sparks to set Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal on fire as Jason Graae and Tony Award winner Faith Prince seized the stage with the premiere of their new show The Prince and the Showboy to an adoring packed house. Graae's inimitable sarcasm and overdone delivery along with Prince's unique pauses and double takes made for a delicious evening of comedy through song as they focused on what makes them click as a team, namely the fun side of life". Well, the show played 54 Below in New York and has returned to the Federal - December 27 and 28 for two nights only. It's now about 20 minutes longer, bringing it in at 90 minutes and allowing each of the stars to concentrate more fully on dramatic career transitions, especially for Prince.
Graae and Prince sing a couple of tunes together, then he takes the stage for one or two, she comes back for two, and so on. Highlights this time around for Graae are "My Funny Valentine" and then a number from the brand new show Scrooge in Love by Larry Grossman and Duane Poole, in which he played Scrooge in San Francisco to acclaim, "Kitchen Built for Twenty". Another new standout was "The Stalker Song", too hilarious to discuss. A demented love song you have to hear to believe! Graae blew everyone away with "What More Can I Say?" from Falsettos and a sweet solo on the oboe. Prince had great moments on the tender "Sweet Kentucky Ham", trying to justify her lean years in New York as opposed to the simplicity and love of home. "Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors was another highlight for her, as she told of losing the part of Audrey off-Broadway to the wonderful Ellen Greene. Forever the optimist, she added "If I had gotten Little Shop, I wouldn't have gotten Adelaide", which brought her Broadway success and a Tony Award. She also performed "Holding to the Ground" from her wonderful experience with William Finn's Falsettos.
Both Jason and Faith have performed a lot of Jerry Herman music in their careers, and so they set aside a whole section of the show to sing some of his very best tunes, including, for Jason "I Am What I Am" from La Cage, and for Faith "Before the Parade Passes By" from Hello Dolly! and "If He Walked Into My Life" from Mame. As the finale, they performed "We'll Catch Up Some Other Time", followed by an encore of Prince singing "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop with Graae accompanying her on the oboe. Fine musical director John Boswell accompanied at the piano throughout the deliriously entertaining evening.
Graae is one of the best comedic forces on a cabaret stage; Prince makes an indelible match with her witty, no nonsense approach. Put them together...and great spontaneous humor and harmony result; it's pure magic! Catch them later this week in Palm Springs, and then Prince is off to New York to co-star with Kevin Chamberlin in a brand new Broadway musical show Disaster by Seth Rudetsky, opening in March. Brava!
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