Kevin on Kabaret :: The Promise of September

We're not quite headlong into it yet, but I've always loved the promise of September: new classes, new television shows, the long wind-up to the holidays. Even the cabaret clubs start to buzz with new projects and we reviewers scurry about trying to see as much as we can before awards season.

It was a pleasure catching up with Ben Rimalower, creator and actor of the hit, award-winning one-man show "Patti Issues." This month, Rimalower is back with a brand new creation, "Bad With Money," another autobiographical solo play.

I asked him if he was surprised by the success of "Patti Issues," which ran at The Duplex for over a year, and also had engagements in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Miami Beach, Fire Island, Provincetown, Glasgow, Berlin, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Australia, and three runs in Los Angeles.

"Not really," Rimalower answered candidly. "I had to work so hard for it. I was the producer also, so performing was the least of the job. I didn't start getting steady sold-out shows until after the New York Times review, and that was five months into the run. I'm grateful for the response I've had, but it was a direct product of my blood, sweat, and tears."

Show him the money

I was surprised that he was going the solo performer route again, given that when we last spoke he emphasized that it was "writing first." "I enjoy performing and just telling the story, I don't care how big the venue is," he said. "But writing is the creative impetus for this."

"A lot of my earlier versions of 'Patti Issues' dealt with my issues with money," Rimalower went on. "In fact, I had a working title called 'Patti/Daddy/Money,' but eventually I felt like the money thing belonged in a different show."

"So much of how I spend the day is thinking about money, so I had to write this show," he confided. "But it's a story I didn't want to tell."

The show explores Rimalower's lifelong struggle with debt, which involved drug abuse and prostitution. "It's taboo to talk about money, but the fact is that Americans struggle with it," he said. "But there is a shroud of secrecy around it. I hope it's a gripping story that is also entertaining, engaging, and funny."

Rimalower will be back at The Duplex, Thursdays at 9:30 in September.

"I had such a great experience there. There is low overhead so I can keep running the show, and the kinds of shows they do are intimate where I don't need a mike," he told me.

Show Rimalower the money and check out his new show. It is sure to be well worth your time-and money. I can't wait to see what's in store. . . .

Honoring Elaine

It is always entertaining and enlightening to chat with the every-busy and beloved Ricky Ritzel. He is both a musical director/pianist and performer in his own right, and also serves on the board of MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs)-he was even President of MAC from 2006-2009.

This month, for one show only, he brings back his tribute to Elaine Stritch to the Metropolitan Room, Sunday, September 28, at 4:00 pm. The much-loved theater and cabaret icon died in July at age 89.

"She had honesty and outrageousness," Ritzel said, explaining Stritch's appeal. "She always spoke her mind and got in trouble for it many times. She would have been a bigger star if she hadn't been so honest and outrageous."

Ritzel says he has equal affection for performing as well as playing for other acts. "I started playing piano at age six, but went to theater school for college," he told me. "I moved to New York to be an actor, but there was money to be made playing piano." He soon discovered that in cabaret he could do both. "I was in heaven!"

Ritzel is also the musical director for the long-running "Judy and Liza Live!", which sells out at Don't Tell Mama every other Saturday. "Working every two weeks with those consummate pros [Tommy Femia and Rick Skye] is perfect!" Ritzel exclaimed.

Along the way, Ritzel has won an astounding fourteen (yes, 14!) MAC Awards and four Bistro Awards.

For the many hats he wears and for his constant presence in the community, I consider Ritzel an expert on all things cabaret. I was curious to know what he thought of the state of the art form these days.

"It's always the same, and it's always different," he explained. "Some think it's thriving, some think it's dying. It has always been perceived that way. It's a financially risky thing to do."

Ritzel has noticed one major difference, however. "A lot of club owners don't give a shit about cabaret, they are just doing it for the money. Who would open a cabaret to make money? People used to open clubs because they loved the art form." He paused before stating the obvious: "I care about it very much."

As for the Stritch show, it will benefit the Help Is On The Way foundation, the charity founded by Joseph Macchia that helps children with HIV and AIDS.

"The show is a little dishy, but so was she," Ritzel said. "It's not derogatory in any way." He further explained that he's doing songs she's associated with, along with some anecdotes, but not seeking to imitate her. "I'm trying to find a way to make the songs she did both true to myself and to her intentions."

For a great cause, catch our current cabaret legend, Ricky Ritzel, salute one of the greats. Sunday, September 28th at 4:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Room. . . .

New Sounds

There are so many good recordings out there; it's difficult to stand out. Especially when it comes to the Great American Songbooks, songs that have been recorded hundreds of times before. The voice has to make me sit up and take notice. It has to make me want to go see the person perform live. It is always that special, indefinable something that sets someone apart from the pack, and it's a rare thing - it's why there is a lot of talent out there but so few become stars. With that in mind, I recently sat up and took notice when listening to "Everything Old is New Again," a new eight-song CD by Lianne Marie Dobbs. I've never met her, never seen her before. But there's something about the way she entices with a lyric, it's like a lover smiling and whispering in your ear. I'm intrigued. I'll be on the lookout for Ms. Dobbs.

Ken's Faves

And now, Kev's Faves: One of cabaret's best male vocalists, Parker Scott, is back at Don't Tell Mama on September 12 and 14 . . . Bistro winner Sharon Clark is at the Metropolitan Room on the 27th . . . the incredible Natalie Douglas is doing two shows at Birdland this month: "Four Women" (Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Billie Holiday) on the 8th and "Hello Dolly . . . The Music of Dolly Parton" on the 15th. Trust me, she can do it all . . . Ellen Foley (yep, the rocker famous for her duet with Meat Loaf, "Paradise By the Dashboard Light") is back with a new album, "About Time," and one night at Iridium, September 18 . . . and two-time Tony winner Christine Ebersole is the big headliner at 54 Below, for two weeks starting September 8th.

And that's just a sampling. October is already booked full at most of the clubs, but why wait? Until next month, I'll be at the clubs . . . and I'll see you over cocktails.