ALL ABOUT (ARE YOU KIDDING) ME

The evening started off just a little rocky as Cathy has been having some Outlook calendar issues of late and Jeff was unaware that our dinner reservations were for 6:00 pm, rather than the usual 6:30. All was forgiven due to the wonderful company of friends Flo and Ben Geizhals and a really delicsious dinner at Steve Hanson’s Blue Fin.

Henry Miller’s Theatre (about to be renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre), which Roundabout rented to the company that produced ALL ABOUT ME (with disclaimers that this was NOT a Roundabout production) is actually quite nice and comfortable.

And that brings us to the conclusion of the nice part of the evening.

We have seen Michael Feinstein several times at his club FEINSTEIN’S AT THE REGENCY HOTEL. While he is not the best singer we have ever seen or heard, he is certainly a recognized expert in what he calls The Great American Song Book, which includes standards by Gershwin, Porter, etc. In the intimate atmosphere of his club, Michael is a good performer, particularly when working with chanteuses like Linda Eder or actresses like Christine Ebersole. We even saw Michael on his own one night and that was pretty good. Even better when he can stay on key.

ALL ABOUT ME starred Michael and Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry
Humphries) along with Jodi Capeless (who sang quite well), Gregory Butler & Jon-Paul Mateo who were both in ridiculously flamboyant outfits and behavior throughout the show.

There is unfortunately just nothing good to say about this production, which was vaudeville at its worst and certainly did not belong on Broadway. Rather than tear ALL ABOUT ME apart, let’s end here and all be grateful that the show closed two nights after we saw it. If only we had bought tickets for a few days later we would have gotten our money back and been spared the evening.

What was interesting was the over the top accolades by the obvious Dame Edna fans in the audience, most of whom were sitting up front and the constant references to Feinstein’s being in (or out of) the closet.

Clearly, the highlight of the evening (other than dinner with Flo & Ben) was standing next to Cynthia Nixon and her partner after the show. How sad is that? (No offense, Cynthia – we love you!)

Next Up: SONDHEIN ON SONDHEIM