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“Ladies! A Raucous Homage to Mel Brooks’ Broads”
Don’t Tell Mama – April 24, 27, 30
With ingenuity and inspiration, popular and award-winning piano bar entertainer Alison Nusbaum and her musical director, veteran and also award-winning Ricky Ritzel, have come up with a theme show that’s entirely appropriate for the cabaret genre, but perhaps has never been done before: the music associated with the women in Mel Brooks films, songs the filmmaker has written and others he has used. What’s more, this pair, both broadly comic, is an apt choice for the endeavor.
The two, with director Jay Rogers, have decided on a rather loose adaptation—no biographical tidbits, no discussion of the films—just a zany, fast-paced parade through the songs, with funny banter between Nusbaum and Ritzel, some clever one-liners, a couple of eye-popping costume changes by Nusbaum, and some effectively over-the-top physical comedy bits. Accompanying the songs there are a couple of brief slide shows of Brooks and his leading ladies, but commentary is kept at a minimum.
The show begins with Nusbaum on screen, groovily attired outside the club. (I assume the costume and the sight gag with a van is a reference to one of the films, but this reviewer isn’t enough of an expert on Brooks to identify what it is.) Then she runs through the club and bounds onto the stage, peels off her garb to reveal a glamorous new outfit, to much applause, and bursts into “Sweet Georgia Brown” (Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, Ken Casey), but not before giving a warning to the audience on how to behave. With her mocking delivery, not only are these kinds of remarks funny, but there is something refreshing about Nusbaum’s “Ich könnte weniger Pflege” (“I could care less,” to use the German that Brooks favors in his parodies) attitude. At one point in the show, she insists to Ritzel, “We’re doing a pretty song, whether you like it or not,” then after a pause, she shoots a barb in the audience’s direction. Nusbaum is a fearless performer.
Later, she reflects on doing her first cabaret show and compares it with her other jobs: “In theatre, you have someone to blame if something goes wrong; in piano bars, no one listens anyway.” Nusbaum is, first and foremost, an unbridled and creative comic, and the sight gags come fast and furious, in unexpected ways—whether she’s crawling atop the piano or brandishing pistols during “The Inquisition” (Mel Brooks, Ronny Graham).
Nusbaum hits her stride on “Love Power” (Norman Blagman, Herb Hartig) and “Puttin’ On the Ritz” (Irving Berlin). On the latter, the overwrought diva has her head down on the piano, sobbing, and does her own hilarious take on the Young Frankenstein version of the song. After running offstage in a tantrum, she reappears a few minutes later in another surprising costume—during her absence Ritzel solos on “Blazing Saddles” by Brooks and John Morris—to perform Brooks’s “I’m Tired” from Blazing Saddles, another terrific moment, and later closes with an energetic “When You Got It, Flaunt It” (Brooks). Another unforgettable moment is a cameo by Don’t Tell Mama stalwarts Sidney Myer and Randy Lester. The hour flies by.
On the downside, much of the presentation is marred by vocal issues. Nusbaum’s transition from mid-range to upper is not fluid; further, when she belts out high notes on several songs, her pitch is unreliable and there’s a harshness to the tone—perhaps too many years screaming over bar patrons. Some corrective action here would go a long way, because the other elements—stage presence, timing, confidence, and choice of material—are in place. The only other suggestion I’d make is to trim down a few of the in jokes between her and Ritzel, which often seem aimed at their friends; a show should be presented as if it were expected to go beyond the room in which it’s currently playing.
All in all, “Ladies” works, thanks to the comic talents of Nusbaum and the inventiveness with which the material is presented.
Kevin Scott Hall performed in cabaret clubs for many years and recorded three CDs, including “New Light Dawning” in 1998, which received national airplay. He also worked at the legendary piano bar, Rose’s Turn, and has taught cabaret workshops and directed shows since 1995. Kevin earned his MFA in Creative Writing at City College of New York. He is an adjunct professor in the Theatre and English departments at City College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. His novel, “Off the Charts!” was published in 2010, and his memoir, “A Quarter Inch from My Heart” (Wisdom Moon), in 2014. Kevin writes a monthly column and entertainment features for Edge Media Network, writes reviews for BistroAwards.com, and freelances for other publications.
