Interview: KIMMEL'S KRITZERLAND: YOUNG AT HEART!

Bruce Kimmel has produced and hosted a monthly cabaret series, KRITZERLAND!, now playing at the Catalina Jazz Club. The series recently produced its 128th show, making it the longest-running cabaret show of its kind.  Kritzerland! began at the Gardenia in September of 2010, and played there until December of 2011, then relocated to Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's for three shows, and then to Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal, where it played until August of 2018. Beginning in September of 2018, the show moved back to Vitello's but now is currently performing at the iconic Catalina Jazz Club. Bruce took 10 minutes to answer 10 questions about his impressions on directing Los Angeles Cabaret. 

Bruce, what lured you to pursue the live performing arts? Who was your muse in your Los Angeles childhood?

Seeing Danny Kaye on the big screen in The Court Jester as a youngster. It’s all I ever wanted to do! 

As an established Cabaret director, who are your biggest artistic influences and how have they shaped your style?

As a director, Gower Champion, Tyrone Guthrie, Jerome Robbins. As a songwriter, all the usual suspects from the musical theater world, along with pop songwriters like Bacharach (who influenced so many).  In the cabaret world, no one – I went my own way from day one in terms of creating shows, casting them, paying the performers, using young people, etc. Our Kritzerland cabaret shows were completely unique when we began them in 2010 – it  only took about a year before some others “borrowed” our structure and style. 

Can you describe your creative process when preparing for your 129th  Kritzerland! show? 

I could, but then I’d have to kill you. Seriously, here’s a Reader’s Digest version of how I’d describe the process of a Kritzerland! cabaret show – we’ve done 128 of ‘em and are about to celebrate our 15th anniversary. I pick a great cast, our shows are usually themed, I choose the songs and assign them, I work with the musical director on the arrangements, if they’re needed, and I structure the evening carefully, because structure is everything. Then I write my patter for my hosting duties. Showtime!

You are also know as an LA actor, what was your favorite aspect of performing live in LA?

I am from here and have been part of the LA theater scene (Guy Haines) and cabaret scene for fifty-five years now. In my performing days, it was doing musicals and plays, whether in small theaters or larger venues like the Taper. There is nothing like a live performance. Then I made my solo cabaret debut around 1986 at the Gardenia. Tommy Rolla had been after me for several years to do a show, and I finally put one together. I was so nervous I thought I was going to die. I had a cute opening number that I wrote called One Man Band. I could barely get through it. But by song three I was better but still shaking like a leaf. In cabaret, it’s just you and the audience – no character to hide behind. Second time I did the show was the same thing. So, I wrote myself a new opening number called Opening Numbers, which played right into being nervous and why can’t I do the second number first. This did the trick! The song always got big laughs and I was home free.

Is there a difference between the New York and LA cabaret vibe for you? 

Well, there used to be in olden days, when you had Ben Bagley and Julius Monk at the prolific Carlyle Hotel– extremely sophisticated back then in NY. There was nothing like those shows here in LA but then we had the amazing Billy Barnes  and his revues and those were truly unique to LA in both style and humor.  It's probably why they did not really click in NY. Amusingly, there are certain shows in NY now that copy what we’ve been doing at Kritzerland since 2010. It is truly funny to see it and I’ll just leave it at this!

How do you handle stage fright and anxiety for yourself or others? 

In the beginning of hosting Kritzerland!, I was petrified the first couple of shows because I had not been in front of an audience for two decades, but then these performances just became so much fun so my comfort level came back and now I never get nervous about anything, not even if I end up singing a song because my close personal friend, Guy Haines, never shows up to sing his songs.

Who are your favorite composers and why do you select them to perform live?

Over the course of 128 shows, we have performed well over 2500 songs. We’ve done ‘em all – Sondheim is always a hit for our shows, Rupert Holmes we adore and he came out and joined us for our tribute show to him, Flaherty and Ahrens, Maltby and Shire, Jule Styne, Noel Coward, Arlen, Loesser, and on and on and on. The songwriters we’ve done the most, however, are The Sherman Brothers, because Richard Sherman was one of my dearest friends. I like songs with great melodies and great lyrics and, as most who know my work know, I am a champion of great cut songs from shows (Boston tryouts) and great songs from flop shows – I’ve produced a lot of recordings of those kinds of songs – the Lost in Boston series, the Unsung Musicals series, Unsung Sondheim, Unsung Irving Berlin – so we’ve done tons of those in the Kritzerland! shows.

Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions before performing live?

In my acting days, I would not eat before a show – just couldn’t do it – maybe some fruit and this was it until after the show. I’m still that way at our cabaret shows – maybe a tiny Caesar salad – but I really like going out to eat after directing a show.  

How do you incorporate audience feedback at your live performances? 

I don’t. I just hope they will come and like what we do and in the case of the Kritzerland! shows, they’ve thankfully been coming for almost fifteen years now. Now, with the solo cabaret shows I’ve directed, I always do at least one run-through with an audience before we do the actual performance. So, if something isn’t  landing the way it should in terms of patter or song choice, the singer and I have frequently made adjustments based on the reaction.

What pivotal Los Angeles venues have you yet to play? 

Cabaret-wise, I’ve been blessed to play most of the major rooms in LA, most of which aren’t here anymore.  Kritzerland! alone has played The Gardenia, Sterling’s Upstairs at Vitello’s, Sterling’s Upstairs at the Federal, Feinstein’s at Vitello’s, The Write-Off Room, and now Catalina.  Last Christmas we did our annual holiday show at the Arboretum as a benefit for their library – that was really fun and I’d like to do more of that kind of thing. I don’t really think there are any pivotal cabaret rooms left. As a director, I’d love to direct at some of the bigger houses like the Taper Forum. My happiest stage acting job was doing a play at the Taper. 

Bruce Kimmel is a published author and has produced over 180 CDs, including the Unsung Musicals and Lost in Boston series, Unsung Sondheim, "The Stephen Schwartz Album", The Alan Menken Album, The Stephen Sondheim Album, Sondheim at the Movies, a classic series of Sondheim shows in jazz with Terry Trotter, vocal albums with Petula Clark, Helen Reddy, Liz Callaway, Laurie Beechman, Rebecca Luker, Jason Graae, Brent Barrett, Michelle Nicastro, cast albums for The King and I,  I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Bells Are Ringing, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (with Ann-Margret), Little Me (with Martin Short), and Ruthless! The Musical.  Bruce is currently directing and hosting KRITZERLAND: Young At Heart new youths in Cabaret at the iconic Catalina Jazz Club on Tuesday June 24, 2025  8:30 pm curtain with another Kritzerland!  Wednesday July 23, 2025.  Bruce's music can be found on kritzerland.com for your listening pleasure. Catalinajazzclub.com for Cabaret Tuesday tix!

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