by Susan Hasho
Watch out! The renowned comedienne Judy Gold has been let loose in a cabaret room. In an attempt to fit in at Feinstein’s/54 Below, Ms. Gold opened her show singing “Born Free” and continued with a medley of songs accompanied on the piano by Bette Sussman. Her theme for the show was “Yes,” she said, “Yes is a word that defines me—yes to everything. Forget the self-loathing, the failure.” She continued with a version of “Love lifts me up where I belong…” Her rendition of “Impossible Dream,” then followed by “Up, Up and Away” really nailed the fact that she can’t sing. And she was hell bent on changing the lyrics of the song “Up, Up and Away” to “up, up and away in my shitty, my shitty balloon.”
She periodically refers to things being a Jew-y Jew thing; even the Israeli accent of her Israeli host on a comedy tour in Israel becomes exaggerated into a throat-hocking impression. According to her, AARP is a great thing because you can get a free donut with your coffee EVERY DAY. In a discussion of being over 50, she manages to point out her upper arms, referring to extra wing jiggle which she illustrates in her sleeveless top past the point of too much. There is nothing sacred; and like the expert craftsman she is—the jokes always teeter just a hair short of off-balance offensive and land square on funny.
Pharma ads on TV and erectile dysfunction become a social commentary on, well, omnipresent men things. She introduced herself to people in the audience and found a way to insult them just enough to at least unite the victims. Social media is addressed: Facebook and texting and 20-year olds bent over their phones all day until they are going to look like her mother’s friend in the rest home segues into a comparison of Chelsea Clinton’s erudite emails to her mother Hillary and her own son’s succession of emails plaintively pleading for her to find something of his NOW. She speaks about people who post endlessly on Facebook bemoaning the death of their pet, “I am lost in sorrow, as they pass over the rainbow bridge.” Ha!
So beware, miss her at your peril. She is sharp and she is funny. Cabaret is ready for Judy Gold. She may have to make a decision about the singing though.
Her final show is March 18 at 7pm. Feinstein’s/54 Below 254 W 54th Street, Cellar, New York, NY 10019 212.302.5559 Tickets and information are available at www.http://54below.com/artist/judy-gold/ Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00pm are only available by calling 646-476-3551.
