First things first. I join Sherry Eaker in thanking everyone who made the Bistro Awards evening such a memorable event!

Though a Bit Overdue….

This winter and early spring, much time was spent by the Bistros Committee in preparation for awards night. Consequently, content for Bistro Bits columns piled up. So I’m happy to return at last with a new edition.

Today, I’m taking a look at the recent endeavors of three gents—stalwarts of New York cabaret all. These guys are old hands at the game, but they know how to deliver something beautiful and bright with each new show (or, as in one case here, a not-so-new-show). Entertainers Nicolas King, Richard Skipper, and Jeff Harnar all demonstrate an ease onstage, an authoritative presence that assures us from the first note and the first bits of patter that they know their stuff and are happy to strut it. While it’s important to celebrate exciting new performers, it’s also good to check in now and again on the doings of veteran performers.

So…. Thank you for your service, gentlemen!

Salute to Wintry New York: Nicolas King’s Isle of Joy

As Nicolas King explained from the stage at Chelsea Table + Stage, his Winter in New York show had a somewhat misleading title. There were winter songs in the show, and there were New York songs, and sometimes the twain did meet.  But…in the middle of the presentation, King took a detour and presented a cluster of classic Rodgers & Hart numbers. Not precisely on point for the theme (apart from a satisfying “Manhattan”), but then, are any other Great American Song writers more New York-y than Dick and Larry? (OK, the Gershwins, maybe.) On the other hand, none of the R&H songs in King’s show were concerned with icicles, snowmen, or frozen pipes.

This smidgen of off-topic digression was, however, the only thing in the show that I would quibble about. This was a first-rate set of songs from a still-young artist: one who started at such a tender age that he’s already a seasoned pro.

King sometimes includes a smattering of more-contemporary material in his shows, but the songs here were, by and large, standards presented with a jazzy tang. The “New York” titles included “The Joint Is Really Jumpin’ Down at Carnegie Hall” (Ralph Blane, Roger Edens, Hugh Martin) and a pensive version of Kander and Ebb’s “New York, New York” that started out a cappella and put a new spin on the ubiquitous anthem.

Many of the “winter” tunes were what most people think of as Christmas songs, but the kind that don’t actually mention Christmas. It was a little odd to hear them again so soon after the tinsel had been stashed in the basement, but also something of a revelation to experience them in a non-holiday context. King and his very simpatico musical director, John di Martino, gave us a charming medley of “Sleighride” as well as “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” with a Latin tinge. Later, came “Let It Snow,” one of several times during the evening when King showed off his scat-singing skills.

The Rodgers & Hart segment proved to be the evening’s highlight. Besides the inevitable “Manhattan,” it included a rousing “Johnny One Note,” a song that’s been a staple of King’s repertoire since his days as a kid singer; a simple, straightforward, and tender “Isn’t It Romantic?”; and a “This Can’t Be Love” that swung. Big time.

Late in the show, Seth Sikes—who has toured extensively with King lately—joined him for a couple of spirited duets. (By the way, the two have a duo show at 54 Below scheduled for tonight, April 22. They’ll pay tribute to material from MGM musicals, with help from Billy Stritch and Andrea McArdle.)

Musicality poured forth like sweet organic honey from King. At one point he was casually chatting to the audience and then, without pause, there were the spoken lines from his next song. Seconds later, he was in full singing mode. This kind of “weave” of talk and song happens a lot in cabaret (as well as in musical theatre, of course), but I’ve seldom before found it done so matter-of-factly yet so gracefully.

Assisting King and di Martino for this show were David Hawkins on drums and Tom Hubbard on bass. (Attended 1/26/24.)

Sparklers Light the Sky: Richard Skipper Fetes Dolly Levi

Richard Skipper, as y’all know, has been fascinated with the musical Hello, Dolly! for much of his life. As someone who became known to us for his portrayal of Carol Channing, how could he not have a big soft spot for the 1964 mega-hit and the character of Dolly Levi: the mother hen of invention—a role inhabited not only by Channing but also by an endless stream of female headliners of musical theatre, along with a fella or two?

In February, Skipper brought a rollicking show—part entertainment, part Musical-Theatre 101 lecture—to the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Still Going Strong: Richard Skipper Celebrates 60 Years of “Hello, Dolly!” packed the room with an impressive roster of cabaret performers and admirers.

During the course of the show, Skipper regaled us with the history of the Levi saga and sang many songs (or parts of songs) from Jerry Herman’s Dolly! score, including two apostrophizing numbers (“World, Take Me Back” and “Love, Look in My Window”), both added to the show when Ethel Merman (the star originally intended for the role of Mrs. Levi) stepped into the part at the end of the show’s long original Broadway run.

There were video clips, including interviews with performers who have appeared in the show over the decades, including Sondra Lee (the original Broadway Ermengarde), Beth Leavel, and Tovah Feldshuh. Lee Roy Reams—who has played both Cornelius Hackl (in a Channing revival) and Dolly herself—was there in the flesh. Surprisingly, however, he sang “Penny in My Pocket,” a song written for the character of Horace Vandergelder, which was not used in the Broadway original but resurfaced for the Midler/Peters/Murphy revival a few years ago.

James Beaman directed the program. Dan Pardo was music director and pianist, getting assistance from Matt Sharfglass (bass) and David Silliman (percussion).

The show had a loose, improvisational quality, which included Skipper answering questions submitted by audience members. Lorna Dallas was sitting near me, close to the stage, and Skipper seemingly snagged her—right there and then—to be his special guest for an encore of the show, which happened on March 29.

Early in the show, he brought the lights up and stepped off the stage to interact with attendees, and I happened to be a pounce-worthy specimen.

Remember when Mrs. Levi sings to the Harmonia Gardens waiters, asking them to “find me an empty lap”?

Wow, wow, wow, fellas. Richard Skipper found mine! (Attended 2/11/24.)

The Tune Clutches Your Heart: Jeff Harnar Revisits Cole Porter

In the burg in Oregon where I was born, there’s a large consignment clothing store called New to You. It’s been there for decades now. On a visit 15 years or so ago, I bought a very well-preserved raincoat at about the time London Fog–style trench-coat raingear seemed to be going out of style altogether.

Fashionability be damned. My purchase has helped me get through many a Manhattan deluge (and there have been a lot of those lately, no?).

The New to You store came to mind after I attended Jeff Harnar’s recent revival of It’s De-Lovely: The Songs of Cole Porter at Birdland: a show from 2008. I’d missed this show back then, so it was all New to Me. And, like that trusty raincoat, this show fit perfectly and exhibited no obvious signs of wear and tear.

Unlike some Porter shows, It’s De-Lovely didn’t chronicle at length the nooks and crannies of the Cole and Linda Porter marriage story or dwell on the horse-riding accident that knocked the composer for the biggest loop of his life. Harnar was interested in the song-crafting angle of the Porter story. It was about the music and lyrics, not a bio-cabaret.

At times, it seemed as though Harnar wanted no Porter song to go unheard. There were a lot of medleys—a few too many, I think—and some favorites were represented by a key musical phrase or two. At one point, Harnar even took to calling out just the titles of songs that didn’t make the cut!

I appreciated the inclusion of somewhat lesser-known songs, particularly the list number “I’m Throwing a Ball Tonight”—almost as clever, I think, as “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” (heard early in the set) or “Can-Can” (the big finale). Harnar also outfitted “Throwing a Ball” with some updated lyrics, which included references to Motley Crue and Lady Gaga. These added lyrical lines were impressively well crafted.

As for ballads, one of the best was “Begin the Beguine”—with a dark and haunting arrangement. On the other hand, I personally wish “True Love” had been one of those songs relegated to the snippets or shouted-out titles bin. It’s never seemed to me to be a real Cole Porter song—too hackneyed and bland. Harnar sang it well, nonetheless, and I didn’t wince twice.

The singer was joined onstage by a reliable team, led by longtime musical director, Alex Rybeck, on piano, along with Ritt Henn on bass and Dan Gross on drums. When Harnar sang of electric eels in “Let’s Do It,” Rybeck somehow provided a wiggly electric-current effect. Henn (who may or may not have had a hand in the eel bit) did some lovely bowing on “In the Still of the Night.” And Gross helped create an intense galloping rhythm on “Just One of Those Things.”

Through it all, Harnar seemed perpetually wowed by his subject’s knack for wit and melodic invention. And he rose, time and again, to do that knack justice.

Porter is the third Broadway composer whose career I’ve seen Harnar celebrate in recent shows—the others being Cy Coleman and Stephen Sondheim. (Note: Harnar’s album version of the Coleman material recently received a MAC Award for Major Recording.)

While I remain partial to the Coleman presentation (A Collective Cy), this one was every bit as polished. It teemed with all sorts of songs, from devilishly naughty comedic confections to masterpieces shot through with excruciating passion and longing.

As with the King and Skipper shows, this was an hour of solid entertainment from a natural-born showman. (Attended 3/11/24.)

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