Subscribe to the Broadway After Dark weekly newsletter Interviews with Ward | About Ward | Contact Ward

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"Gershwin...Here To Stay"

A remarkably truthful portrayal of George Gershwin is being presented by enormously entertaining KT Sullivan, Mark Nadler, and Jon Weber in the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel.

Demystifying without belittling an icon can be tricky. These three good-natured, greatly gifted performers have just the right tone in this fast-paced, cleverly-staged production which includes beautiful singing, terrific piano-playing, and even a bit of tap-dancing.

In the show, composer Kay Swift is mentioned as the most enduring companion of all of the women in Gershwin's life. Since I had the good fortune of Kay Swift's friendship, I can vouch for this show capturing the way she spoke about Gershwin as exuberant and fun-loving, not as a young man racing against his destiny of an early death as depicted in "Rhapsody in Blue", Hollywood's version of Gershwin's life.

Gorgeous---best describes KT Sullivan---blonde, alabaster-skinned looks and silvery-voiced singing that ranges from glowingly tender to delightfully comedic.

Mark Nadler is absolutely unique: an irrepressible, quick-witted dynamo who plays an intricate piano arrangement of "Rhapsody in Blue" while singing "'S Wonderful", resulting in an awe-inspiring blend. When he sings "Embraceable You", he's downright sexy.

Jon Weber, known as a dazzling jazz pianist and sought-after accompanist with an encyclopedic knowledge of music, reveals a low-key, wry wit in a vaudeville-style duet with Mark Nadler, "The Babbitt and the Bromide" from the 1927 show, "Funny Face".

"Gershwin...Here To Stay" is being booked throughout the U.S. We can only hope it will also have a return engagement in New York.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"LUCIE ARNAZ LEADS AN EXCITING 'BABALU'"

Our record-breaking, frigid weather became a sultry Caribbean breeze for savvy New Yorkers who headed to one of Manhattan's hottest spots last weekend: the 92nd Street Y.

I kid you not! It was there that Lucie Arnaz presented "Babalu"--The American Songbook Goes Latin

Known for cherishing witty words and demanding a perfect presentation of them, the audiences at this unusual Lyrics and Lyricists program were swept into the pulsating pleasure of Latin rhythms.

In a striking departure from honoring lyrics, "Babalu" honored the arrangements of orchestra leader Desi Arnaz.

Most of these arrangements are in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. ever since the death of Desi Arnaz in 1986. Lucie Arnaz and her terrific music director, Ron Abel, scoured the collection for choice selections.

Looking svelte and sexy in short, sleeveless dresses and singing wonderfully, Lucie Arnaz related the riches to rags to riches saga of her famous father, Desi Arnaz.

He was born into a very prominent, very wealthy Cuban family. This good fortune ended the day Batista came to power in 1933.

Sixteen-year-old Desi and his father emigrated to Miami where they lived in an abandoned warehouse, killing the swarming rats with a baseball bat. Desi helped out with a series of odd jobs, including cleaning bird cages.

Giving up his family's ambition for him to become a doctor, Desi realized he could make money with his music. Playing the guitar and singing at The Roney Plaza in Miami, he caught the eye of Xavier Cugat who gave him a job with his orchestra.

After leaving the Cugat orchestra to start his own orchestra, he introduced the conga to America which became a dance craze. Soon he had an RCA recording contract, then a starring role in Broadway's "Too Many Girls" and a leading role in its film version where he met his wife, Lucille Ball.

He became a household name playing Ricky Ricardo, the husband of his real-life wife Lucille Ball, in television's enormous hit, "I Love Lucy".

Overcoming the initial reluctance of television executives who felt the public would not accept a Latin with a heavy accent as the husband of Lucille Ball, he changed the media image of Latinos from lazy underachievers to hard-working successes. In real life, he became one of television's shrewdest, most successful producers.

Through it all, music was his primary love. His recording of "Babalu" in 1946 was such a huge hit that it became his signature song.

Not only was he influential in introducing Latin music to America, but he also gained recognition by making Latin arrangements of American hit songs. Among these included in Lucie Arnaz's 'Babalu' show were "How High the Moon", "Come Rain or Come Shine", and "Temptation".

One of the most striking renditions of an American hit song in a Desi Arnaz arrangement was "Old Devil Moon' from 'Finian's Rainbow' by Yip Harburg and Burton Lane sung by the very unlikely, but very effective duet of Lucie Arnaz and actress/singer Valerie Pettiford. Gracious Lucie said she wanted to sing it just the way Valerie does it, so they harmonized.

Lucie's brother, Desi Arnaz, Jr. was a knock-out on drums in the marvelous, new Desi Arnaz Orchestra onstage.

Actor/singer Raul Esparza's rich voice and dramatic interpretations of songs were also cheered by the audience.

Adding to the festivities was the dancing by Kristine Bendul and Mark Stuart Eckstein.

And the audience reaction to this novel Lyrics and Lyricists program was a widespread, resounding: "This show must have more repeat performances!"

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"JOHN DENVER, BERNIE MADOFF, & Me"

A cabaret show with Bernie Madoff as its theme. You must be joking! Not if you are acclaimed cabaret singer, Cynthia Crane, known for her creative concepts.

ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" recently featured a look at Cynthia Crane's show on a segment marking the one-year anniversary of Madoff's arrest for the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, defrauding individuals and charities of 50 billion dollars.

As a Madoff victim herself, Cynthia Crane began realizing that her talent for story-telling in song could be used to strike back at him. When she learned that John Denver's estate was also a Madoff victim, she knew she had a show.

"John Denver, Bernie Madoff, & Me" was performed at the redesigned Don't Tell Mama, which now includes an adjacent gourmet restaurant.

Setting the scene, Crane opened her show with Duke Ellington and Marshall Barer's "Spider and the Fly," as a metaphor for Madoff luring his victims.

Community activist that she is, Crane expressed righteous anger at Madoff for the suffering he has caused charities, as well as individuals.

Noting that John Denver's estate was also victimized by Madoff, she sang several Denver songs, personalizing them with her own feelings about them.

Crane calls herself a 'saloon singer' and delivered Jose Cuervo's "Drinkin Again" with such insight that it evoked the strongest of the many bravos she received.

But far from being a self-pitying, depressing show, Crane's irrepressible verve and 1,000-watt smile that is even brighter than her orange hair soon steered her to sing of her joy in living.

Yes, she has to sell her Greenwich Village house which she and her husband so lovingly created with collections of both unusual and mundane items blended together into an eye-popping, joyful, welcoming home. But, as she movingly expressed in Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," her husband's kiss today thrills her as much as the first time he kissed her 45 years ago.

Summing it all up, she closed with Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen's clever "No, I Don't Think I'll End It All Today"

Her cheering audience demanded an encore, and she obliged with Marshall Barer's delightful "Christmas Is an Island."

This truly unique show was enhanced by Crane's expert director, Ted Story (who is also her husband), musical director Mark Janas, guitarist Sean Harkness, and Bobby Kneeland's sound and lighting.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"DARREN WILLIAMS ELECTRIFIES THE METROPOLITAN ROOM"

Darren Williams may be from Down Under, but he's on his way up to the top. This Australian knock-out of a performer is a one-man energy source. No matter how tired you may feel before his show, you'll leave feeling exhilarated.

To take advantage of this super-energizing event, rearrange any plans you may have for 9:45 this Saturday evening (11/14) and head for the Metropolitan Room. This will be Williams's last performance there before he returns in February.

Until his return, he's in demand elsewhere, having won the Peter Allen Australian Variety Entertainer of the Year Award and numerous other awards.

Williams' wide-ranging, outsize voice has given him the ability to sing everything from pop to opera, as well as appearing in musicals.

His easy charm reflects his polished showmanship, having sung professionally from age 7. His attractive blond looks combined with his lithe physique enhancing his dance movements add immensely to the pleasure of his performance.

Currently, Williams is performing a tribute to his fellow Australian, Peter Allen, singing some of Allen's hits and lesser known songs. Whether or not you are a fan of Peter Allen's music, you are quite certain to become a fan of Darren Williams.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"ANGELS AND ASHES: A SHORT BOOK ABOUT DARWIN, LINCOLN, AND MODERN LIFE by Adam Gopnik"

"You know what it's like. You take a classic book to the beach---but never read it. One summer I had a lot of beach time, and actually started reading Darwin's "The Origin of the Species" I was surprised at how readable it is, not at all a dry, academic treatise."

"This began my obsession with Darwin", author Adam Gopnik, best-known for articles in "The New Yorker" and the best-selling "Paris to the Moon" explained to the audience at the National Arts Club.

Another of Gopnik's obsessions is Abraham Lincoln. The coincidence of Darwin and Lincoln having been born on the same day, February 12, 1809, and having become so important in shaping our contemporary life propelled Gopnik to write "Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life".

The title refers to the controversy about the famous words spoken by Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton as Lincoln died. Did Stanton say: "Now he belongs to the ages", placing Lincoln in history? Or did he say, "Now he belongs to the angels, putting Lincoln in a spiritual sphere?

As a writer, Gopnik was interested in the similarity of both Darwin and Lincoln presenting their ideas from a foundation of irrefutable facts leading to their conclusions.

Another connection between Darwin and Lincoln is that Darwin was a staunch abolitionist. It is believed that Lincoln read a precursor to "The Origin of the Species".

Pointing out Lincoln's love of Shakespeare to the audience at the National Arts Club, Gopnik was joined by erudite John F. Andrews, president of The Shakespeare Guild, which sponsored Gopnik's talk.

Gopnik claimed that he checks off his obsessions by writing about them. He had so many obsessions before age 30 that it is unlikely that this enthusiastic 53-year-old writer will run out of topics.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"THE TEMPERAMENTALS"

Famous fashion futurist Rudi Gernreich, denounced by both the Vatican and the Kremlin as immoral for creating the topless bathing suit in 1964 and considered shocking by the couture elite and the public for also launching see-through clothing and the thong among his many innovative designs, is presented in his lesser-known revolutionary role in the absorbing play "The Temperamentals" at the TBG Theater (The Barrow Group).

Two decades before the Stonewall riot, commonly called the beginning of the gay rights movement, the Mattachine Society which became the earliest, lasting gay rights organization, was founded in 1950 by Harry Hay, Rudi Gernreich, Dale Jennngs, Bob Hull, and Chuck Rowland.

Playwright Jon Marans, best-known for his acclaimed "Old Wicked Songs" and as a writer/lyricist for television's 1991 New Carol Burnett Show, has written an engrossing picture of the repressive pre-gay rights 1950's interwoven with the poignant love story of Rudi Gernreich and Harry Hay.

Rudi Gernreich is presented as a young, Viennese immigrant who fled the Holocaust and is determined to become an American success. Harry Hay is shown as the descendant of successful Americans. The opposite experiences of these two men, their admiration and love of each other, and the problems of their relationship are touchingly portrayed.

Rudi Gernreich is sensitively played by Michael Urie who is Marc on ABC-TV's "Ugly Betty". Harry Hay is memorably performed by Thomas Jay Ryan, known for his appearances in many plays and films.

Excellent performances portraying the three other founders of the Mattachine Society are given by Tom Beckett, Matthew Schneck, and Sam Breslin Wright.

Playwright Jon Marans deftly writes with dramatic and comedic effects, giving all of the characters distinct personalities.

Director Jonathan Silverstein imaginatively uses the black box stage to give the illusion of public and private settings and the illusion of additional characters in a past timeframe.

"The Temperamentals" is produced by MAN underdogLLC and Daryl Roth.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"GANGPLANK"

Watch for the opening of "Gangplank" next season, a thriller by playwrights Ward Morehouse III and Mark Druck.

A pre-production reading was given at The Lambs Club recently by an enthusiastic cast, headed by Caitlin O'Heaney and Merrill Grant.

Set on the border between the United States and Canada, the play will keep you wondering: will the gangplank be raised for a get-away; will the estranged lovers reunite; and will the sorrowful, young woman get her morbid wish.

We don't want to give away the plot, so we'll just say that you will be trying to second-guess the play's characters right up to the surprise ending.

"Gangplank" is directed by Mark Druck who also co-wrote the script with Ward Morehouse III. Druck is the author of several plays and reviews theater for The New Yorkers.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"'SWONDERFUL! 'SMARVELOUS! MARK NADLER"

Propelled by his passion for the lyrics of Ira Gershwin, Mark Nadler turns the life of this shy, self-effacing "second-fiddle" to his lionized, younger brother George into a vivid, enthralling theater piece at the Metropolitan Room.

Nadler named the show"...His Lovely Wife, Ira" as a rebuke to the infamous faux pas made by an English radio announcer who was referring to the Gershwins.

Known as the ampersand to his first-place brother George, Nadler shines the spotlight on Ira Gershwin, pointing out that Ira also wrote lyrics for many ' composers such as Harold Arlen, Burton Lane, Jerome Kern, Vernon Duke, and Kurt Weill.

Packed audiences at the Metropolitan Room, many who came again, share their awe at Nadler's exciting, entertaining delivery of scholarly information combined with his unique, creative approach to songs. Accompanying himself, his piano-playing is so richly fulfilling that additional instruments aren't missed.

Nadler's infectious verve and ready wit are in abundance, as always. And his heart-felt performance of "Someone to Watch Over Me" evokes some of the most resounding bravos.

Overwhelmed by perfectionist Ira Gershwin's hard work searching for the perfect words, Nadler informs us that sometimes this meant as many as 40 re-rewrites. "Moonlight Madness" finally became "Long Ago and Far Away" in the 40th version.

Yet, Ira Gershwin willingly re-wrote his lyrics at the request of singers. This most obliging lyricist only became angered when his lyrics were changed without consulting him. Singers should not think of even changing "'Swonderful!" to It's wonderful

Early in the show, Nadler illustrates how lyricists used dummy lyrics to keep track of rhythms before there were tape recorders. He shows how the repetition of a rhythm finally became "Fascinating Rhythm".

Attesting to the lasting, contemporary feel of Ira Gershwin's lyrics, Nadler slyly says that one of these songs could be the debate between intelligent design and evolution. I won't ruin the punchline by revealing the name of this song. Dear reader, you'll have to figure it out for yourself --- or much, much better see Mark Nadler at the Metropolitan Room before his show closes.

One can only hope that this remarkable show will be extended and made into a DVD.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

"PURE CONFIDENCE" IS A CHALLENGE

"I'm the one with a whip," says Simon Cato defiantly, even though he is a slave in playwright Carlyle Brown's provocative "Pure Confidence" at 59 East 59th Street Theater.

Set in the south before the Civil War, "Pure Confidence" opens with a startling role reversal scene. Simon Cato, a superb jockey, insistently demands that Colonel Johnson buy him so that with his horserace earnings he can buy his own freedom. Colonel Johnson tries to placate him because he needs Simon Cato to race the horse called Pure Confidence.

Indelibly played by Gavin Lawrence as Simon Cato and effectively portrayed by Chris Mulkey as Colonel Johnson, the two men spar as equally canny opponents.

Playwright Carlyle Brown based "Pure Confidence" on a little known part of American history. Before the Civil War and until just before World War I, black jockeys were as ubiquitous as black basketball players are today. Often slaves who were used to train horses became excellent riders.

The first Kentucky Derby race in 1875 was won by one of the 13 black jockeys out of the 15 jockeys in that race. Several successive Kentucky Derby races were won by black jockeys. Jim Crow laws ended the dominance of black jockeys shortly before World War I.

Brown began investigating the history of black jockeys as a result of being commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera to rewrite the book for Harold Arlen's musical, "St. Louis Woman." The musical was based on the book by Countee Cullen of the Harlem Renaissance. The central character is a black jockey.

Realizing the dramatic richness in the situation of a slave providing extraordinary monetary value because of his great skill, Brown began writing "Pure Confidence."

There was an actual jockey named Simon and another named Cato. Brown combined their names as a way of honoring them. Many of the black jockeys lived lives similar to the Simon Cato character.

The slaveholders couldn't whip or threaten these valuable slaves. They had to talk to them. A relationship developed, changing the power structure.

The second act of "Pure Confidence" is set in Saratoga, New York in 1877. Simon Cato's career as a jockey was ended by an injury. Now he works as a hotel bellhop.

Against the harsh realities of the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, a touching scene is beautifully played by Ellen Landry as Colonel Johnson's wife and Christiana Clark as Simon Cato's wife.

Again there is a role reversal scene. Before her marriage, Simon Cato's wife was the almost mute personal slave of Colonel Johnson's wife. Now the former cowed slave does most of the talking.

Excellent direction by Marion McClinton keeps the pace crackling in this Mixed Blood Theater production.

This thought-provoking and moving play might have been even more satisfying if there were insights into how Simon Cato developed such pure confidence.

Even the most talented people who realize their outstanding abilities often can't make the leap to the realm of pure confidence. Perhaps achieving pure confidence can't be explained.

During the Obama presidential campaign, a television reporter asked Michelle Obama how her husband became so confident. She replied, "That's what I keep asking him. Where did you get all that confidence?"

Perhaps playwright Carlyle Brown wisely has not attempted to solve the mystery of pure confidence.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

IRIS ORNIG IS HERE

Iris Ornig, internationally acclaimed as a bass player and composer at jazz clubs and festivals in Europe and East Africa, is giving a series of performances in New York.

Ornig's recent appearance for a packed audience at The Kitano featured her original compositions which ranged from swinging, stormy, melodic, playful, and angular sounds to straight-ahead music with twists and surprises.

At The Kitano, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Chris Benham on drums, and Klaus Mueller on piano added to the audience's enthusiasm for Ornig's performance.

Her innovations as a composer, arranger and bandleader, as well as a bass player, have attracted many jazz notables who have performed with her.

Tall and lithe at a young age, Ornig's earliest ambition was to become a professional squash player. "Now between gigs, I just cook squash", she laughed.

Her musical epiphany occurred at age 15 when she heard a radio show about Joe Pastorius, the jazz electric bass player. "I was blown away by his sound and his big band," she exclaimed.

Two years later, at age 17, she was playing the electric bass in a rock band and in a jazz band.

Perhaps surprisingly, another influence on her music was Johnny Cash.

Ornig left her native Germany to study jazz and popular music in St. Gallen, Switzerland and then at London's well-known Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Always open to new areas of musical expansion, she recently discovered Kenny Werner's "Effortless Mastery". "This book has opened new doors for me to experience and live in the moment in music", she explained.

Ornig's fans are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to hear her newest musical paths.

For Iris Ornig's performance schedule, go to www.irisornig.com

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

UTE LEMPER WILL TAKE YOU ON A UNIQUE JOURNEY

Do you long for continental glamour to escape this winter's worsening weather and news, but a trip to Europe is impossible now?

Then step into the Cafe Carlyle by March 7th. You will be treated as if you were visiting royalty, and singer/musical explorer Ute Lemper will take you to unheard of places, impossible to visit without her intriguing guidance.

No razzle dazzle opening number at the Cafe Carlyle, even though Ute Lemper won the American Theater Award for her role in Broadway's "Chicago" and also starred in the London and Las Vegas productions of this show.

She began her journey, as she frequently referred to her program at the Carlyle, with a Yiddish medley by Chava Albertstein, an Israeli folksinger and peace activist. The audience quickly realized they were in for an unusual trip led by this statuesque German-born artist with shiny gold hair and the chiseled face of a model.

Whether singing in German, French, or English, Lemper considers herself a storyteller and will subordinate her fine voice to whatever sounds she considers the most effective to tell her tales.

The songs of Brecht/Weill, Kander/Ebb, Williams, Monk, Hollaender, and tributes to Piaf were given her own twist. Even the familiar "Speak Low" by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash had her own surprising stamp.

She also presented the English translations she wrote for three songs by Astor Piazzolla who revolutionized the tango by adding classical and jazz elements to it. She explained that she has grown into an appreciation of the bandoneon which is similar to a small accordion and is essential in a tango orchestra.

Her excellent musicians at the Cafe Carlyle are Vana Gierig on the piano and Tito Castro on the bandoneon.

Ute Lemper calls her current program "The Last Tango in Berlin", reflecting her uneasy relationship with the country of her birth. For the past 10 years her home base has been in New York City, but she continues to explore the culture of the Weimar Republic, Germany's attempt at democracy after World War I which was doomed by the rise of Hitler.

She has said, "As a performer, I like to breathe and live inside the centers of chaos in the worlds of today and yesterday. The longing for a place of harmony and the search for spiritual freedom live through my new stories and melodies. I will always, though, keep Berlin alive with contemporary and nostalgic eyes as the lust and anarchy of Weimar shall live forever."

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

AMANDA MCBROOM SENDS VALENTINES AT THE METROPOLITAN ROOM

Blend a breezy, friendly Californian with a worldly sophisticate who virtually can inhabit the songs of Jacques Brel --- in French--- and you'll have an idea of singer/songwriter Amanda McBroom in her current show at The Metropolitan Room.

Speaking to her audience as if they were her best buddies, she said that her song "The Rose" (a world-wide No. 1 hit, recorded by Bette Midler) was a miracle. The story of how this came about could be a movie plot.

She explained, on a previous occasion, that while listening to her car radio she heard a clever lyric that was opposite to her feelings about love. Thinking about love caused the entire song "The Rose" to come to her at once. She sped home to write it down before she could forget any of it. Upon hearing it, her husband told her that she had just written a standard. She thought no one would ever hear it.

A year later, McBroom submitted the song to movie producers who were filming "The Rose" and looking for a title song for their star, Bette Midler. The producers rejected McBroom's song saying it sounded like a hymn and they wanted a rock number. The movie's music director was unable to convince the producers to reconsider, so he sent the song to Bette Midler who liked it and had the final say.

McBroom opened her show at The Metropolitan Room with two songs by her music director, Michelle Brourman: the lyrical "Make Me a Kite" and the slyly humorous "Hot in Here". With her characteristic generosity, McBroom declared that working with Michelle Brourman is "another miracle in my life."

Switching to the "masters of musicals' and extolling their greatness, she then sang Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" and Rodger's and Hart's 'I Wish I Were in Love Again". Chatting at length with her admirers after her show, McBroom joked that she and her actor husband, George Ball, are so enamored of musicals that they communicate with each other in song lyrics --- often to the good-natured chagrin of their friends.

The most touching of McBroom's own songs included at The Metropolitan Room is "Errol Flynn" which she calls "a valentine to my father" who had been an actor who never achieved stardom and was listed in movie credits below the likes of Errol Flynn.

The real focus of this varied show is McBroom's passion for the songs of Jacques Brel. She starred in "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris' in the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and European productions. She credits this experience with turning her into a song-writer.

Taking issue with Rod McKuen's tepid translation, "If You Go Away", McBroom sang Brel's original "Ne Me Quitte Pas" ("Don't Leave Me") in French with such heartfelt emotion in her clear, lovely voice that bravos erupted and excitement soared for her soon to be releasd Jacques Brel CD.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

ROBERT KLEIN SCORES AGAIN AND AGAIN

Ask any top-flight comedian working today to name the most important influence on his career, and chances are the answer will be Robert Klein. Acknowledged as the initiator of "observational comedy", Klein is an icon who has been packing them in for 40 years, as he did this past week-end (1/23 & 1/24) at Comix, the new in-spot in Manhattan's trendy meat-packing district.

The opening performer was Scott Blakeman, dubbed "The King of Comedy at Jewish Singles Events". Befitting his name, Blakeman looks like a nice Jewish boy, since today a nice Jewish boy can be a blond, blue-eyed, good-looking guy that a girl would be happy to bring home to her parents --- if he weren't married already. His humor, whether Jewish-tinged or unadorned American, was enjoyed by all.

Then out came Robert Klein, bemoaning his current movie roles as "the father of hot young actresses"--- unaware of his own attractiveness, radiating an unusual combination of warm, good guy with an exciting edge.

As always, his humor was on target skewering personal and political foibles. At one point, he treated the audience to a taste of his fine musicianship, playing the harmonica in a duet with his musical director, Bob Stein, on the keyboard.

Adding to his engaging talents as a performer, Klein has now earned literary acclaim as the author of a highly praised memoir of growing up in the Bronx and beginning a show business career, "The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue".

Between live performances and film roles, he is now preparing for his ninth HBO Special, a tradition he began when he was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on HBO.

Klein's lengthy list of awards for his work on Broadway, in films, and on television attests to his having made the right choice in college when he switched from medicine to show business.

Fittingly, the night before he appeared at Comix, he gave a performance at a party in Detroit, hosted by a friend of a seriously ill man who was certain that Robert Klein's humor would be extra-ordinarily good medicine.

#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS

August 18, 2008

Garnering kudos as the "Fringe Festival's" contribution to family fare, "The Seven Little Foys" takes a contemporary look at the family act that quickly became a national institution in the early 1900's.

No cookie-cutter "Father Knows Best" faithful husband or Trapp Family noble father, playwright Chip Deffa presents Eddie Foy, founder of the vaudeville act "Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys" as a very human father. He loves his wife, wants the best for his children --- and also has an eye for the ladies.

Almost immediately, in the first act, Eddie is confronted as having been named co-respondent by the husband of his leading lady. Eddie's wife (played By Beth Bartley) has opened their 20-room house in New Rochelle to all children needing a home. She remarks that it's possible that Eddie is their father.

The creation of the family act is urged by George M. Cohan (played by Ryan Foy and actual great-grandson of Eddie Foy). When Eddie (played by Michael Townsend Wright) says he wants his children to have a college education, his good friend and vaudeville partner, Cohan counters that show business is in their blood.

Playwright Deffa, who is also the director and music arranger, has included choice, popular songs of the early 1900's, as well as his own charming songs.

Musical Director Richard Danley's many talents as a director, pianist, arranger and conductor are sought after by theater producers and stars, including Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Lea Salonga.

The cast of budding musical performers with many professional credits includes: Eric Stevens, Rayna Hirt, Eddy Francisco, Des Julien, Alexander Craven, Brandon Tyler Reid, and Mitchell Schneider.



#

Paley's Place

reviews by Bettina Paley

VOICES OF SWORDS

June 26, 2008

Rosemary Prinz, as charismatic as when she was the queen of daytime television in "As the World Turns", plays steely Olivia determined to bring home her estranged son whom she proudly raised to be as combative as she is in "Voices of Swords", a new play by Kari Floren at Urban Stages. Co-star Lauren Mufson, usually seen in Broadway musicals, gives a deeply touching performance as Alexis who has her own family troubles. Alexis is newly hired to be Olivia's personal organizer. Relentless Olivia inveigles Alexis into becoming a pawn in her scheme to turn her son into her companion.

Playwright Kari Floren has written an engrossing portrayal of the perceptions of the rights and responsibilities of parents and their grown children. She is also a co-founder of Right Down Broadway Productions which produced "Voices of Swords".

Director Spider Duncan Christopher developed finely etched performances from the entire cast which includes Gordon Joseph Weiss, Mary Elaine Monti, Michael McKenzie, and Robert M. Jiminez. Spider Duncan Christopher's excellent direction of the cast and imaginative staging are greatly responsible for the lasting impression of the play.

#

Jubilant Jenna

By Betina Paley, Writer and TV Interviewer, New York City
April 20, 2008

From the moment Jenna Esposito strode onto the stage, the sophisticated set that frequents The Metropolitan Room knew they had come to a party. Jenna bursts with "the good times are here" in a cascading warm welcome with verve and humor and a voice as strong as her vibrant smile.

An endearing extra in this extremely entertaining cabaret show is musical director/guitarist Fortune Esposito, Jenna's proud papa, accompanying her with such delight

Titled "13 Men and Me", she sings songs of 13 songwriters ranging from Kurt Weill to DickieThompson. The entire program has been recorded on her debut album, also called "13 Men and Me".

Jenna's live performances and her CD have been widely praised and are certain to lead to more successes.

#

Sample Issue

As seen in
"best travel newsletter"
--Money Magazine