Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . .
When beginning this article, a line describing the heart and soul of cabaret star Ari Axelrod felt awfully familiar. That’s because the words matched exactly a previous review (read HERE). He is certainly consistent! If the phrase “he sang his heart out” hadn’t existed, it would be coined for him now.
Axelrod’s newest show, Self-Portrait, filled Birdland Jazz with a sold-out crowd of fans, friends, and fellow cabaret stars. In a marvelously curated show of deeply personal songs, superbly directed by Jeff Harnar and with the musical direction and sole accompaniment by Lawrence Yurman, Axelrod doubles down on the love he radiates from within. While cabaret tends to be more about interpretation and emotion than pure musical skills, it doesn’t exactly hurt that Axelrod has a beautiful, pristine voice that can soar, a ton of charisma, and a strong stage presence. As fan Bruce Balbach said after the show, “The beauty of his vocals and the intimacy of the lyrics can make time stand still.”
The star, dressed in a dark suit and an unbuttoned, white shirt, opened with the title song, “Self Portrait” (Ed Kleban). This lovely ballad was performed as something of a lullaby, with great delicateness and a soaring finish.
Axelrod noted that a major part of his identity is “Judaism and musical theater.” He recently completed work in the Papermill Playhouse production of Fiddler on the Roof, with 41 appearances as Avra the Bookseller. He gave a taste of this production with an emotionally charged and joyous “Miracle of Miracles” (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick).
Axelrod uses truth and humor to tell his stories. He included an especially poignant, powerful story familiar to his fans: that of the successful surgery for a rare brain malformation that was slowly killing him. “My head was too big for my skull. Make your own joke.” The star considers this to be his greatest gift, in that it changed his entire perspective on life and love. “Brain Surgery: My Story in Song “ is actually a brilliant mashup of “The Cure” (Benjamin Scheuer, from The Lion), “Holding to the Ground” (William Finn, from Falsettos) and “How Glory Goes” (Adam Guettel, from Floyd Collins). The long setup for this piece was worth the wait, as he takes the audience into the OR with some rhetorical and actual questions that paint a vivid image of the moment. Mr. Yurman’s underlying chord choices here provided some great tension. The piece was one of several that required tissues.
The star stunned with his sensitive, haunting interpretation of “Vincent” (Don McLean), the tragic story of Vincent van Gogh, with its “starry, starry night” refrain. His voice here evoked for this writer a comparison to Broadway star Mandy Patinkin. (Perhaps a Yiddish album is In Axelrod’s future?) Notably, his breath control and timing are exquisite. Mr. Yurman’s arrangement and playing helped make “Vincent” one of the show’s highlights.
In a program filled with emotionally laden ballads, “Shiksa Goddess” (from The Last Five Years) was a very welcome comic relief. This list song, by the brilliant Jason Robert Brown, is a humorous look at pretty much every Jewish man’s “shiksa fantasy.” Axelrod shows a great ability to handle funny musical material. (When the song lists the names of various Jewish girls the protagonist has dated, one of them coincidentally matched the name of one of Axelrod’s Fiddler co-stars, who was present at Birdland.)
If this were a baseball game in which Axelrod already had several triples and home runs, he saved a couple of grand slams that really ran up the score. After quipping that the Eleventh Commandment for Jews is “Though Shalt Worry,” Axelrod noted that for much of his material, “these colors, these truths” only presented themselves to him after the horrific events of October 7. His “Lost in the Stars” was a “pass the tissues” affair, devastating in the emotion he delivered. He seamlessly went into a perfectly paired medley of “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” (Rodgers and Hammerstein) and “Children Will Listen” (Sondheim), two songs that reveal the antidote to the anger and hate that is so prevalent today. If the message did not quite sink in, he continued the theme with “Make Them Hear You” (Ahrens and Flaherty) and “Sunday” (Sondheim).
Ari Axelrod has, once again, presented a cabaret show that is delicious, thought-provoking, and a must-see . . . . whenever it returns.
Ari Axelrod: Self Portrait took place on January 29 at Birdland Jazz (315 West 44th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues) www.birdlandjazz.com
Photos courtesy of Jeff Harnar
