By Andrew Poretz . . .
Producer and performer Jamie deRoy packed Birdland for another of her highly entertaining and philanthropic “Jamie deRoy and Friends” shows. The show benefitted Entertainment Community Fund (formerly called The Actors Fund).
The show was directed by Barry Kleinbort, with the trio of musical director and pianist Ron Abel, bassist Ritt Henn and drummer Ray Marchica.
Ms. deRoy, also the emcee, opened the festivities with “I’m Too Old to Die Young” (Murray Grand).
Actress and singer Nikki M. James performed Sondheim’s “What More Do I Need,” which she described as “a love letter to the greatest city in the world. The Tony winner also performed “Sleepy Man” (Robert Waldman and Alfred Uhry), a beautiful lullaby she sings to her daughter every night.
Comedian Steve Scott killed with a “tight eight.” Mr. Scott combines traditional standup with a plethora of sound effects. Noting his presence in a jazz club, he joked, “I feel I should have brought a trumpet,” before briefly performing a rather credible mouth trumpet. The funny man later peppered a routine with his recreation of construction sounds.
Tony Danza, who starred on TV’s Taxi and Who’s the Boss, is also a terrific “song and dance man.” The native Manhattanite performed a pair of songs with lyrics by Matt Dennis. For a lightly swinging rendition of “Everything Happens to Me” (Tom Adair) he replaced some outdated lyrics with modern, funny references. He changed the line about sending a telegraph and an “airmail special” to a reference to email: “You changed your screen name.” For one of the evening’s highlights, he performed “Angel Eyes,” including the very rarely sung verse. The star has a smooth crooner voice with a tone like Barry Manilow’s and phrasing like Sinatra.
Speaking of Barry Manilow, Ms. deRoy told a marvelous story of her early days in the business, when a pre-fame Manilow produced her cabaret show, back when he was writing “Could This Be Magic.” Coming full circle, she is now a producer of Manilow’s new Broadway show, Harmony.
Classic rock violinist Daisy Jopling performed the Elvis hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with a beautiful tone you couldn’t help but fall in love with. For a very fun arrangement of The Who’s “See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You” from Tommy, she also sang the songs commands: “See me… feel me… touch me… heal me…”, as well as the final repeating section of the soaring “Right behind you…” denouement of this powerful song.
Cabaret favorites Nicolas King and Seth Sikes performed a pair of songs from their popular “New Belters” show. First up was a thrilling medley of “Showstoppers,” “There’s Gotta Be Something Better than This” and “Something’s Coming,” which lived up to its titles. The youthful stars followed with a spectacular medley of Bricusse/Newley songs, “Who Can I Turn To” and “What Kind of Fool Am I?” Mr. King took the first song and Mr. Sikes the second, before they switched songs for a stunning contrapuntal duet.
For a delicious finale to a fine evening, Ms. deRoy performed the hilarious “Jews Don’t Camp” (David Buskin)- a fixture of her shows – with the surprise addition of Messrs. King and Sikes as her (very goyishe) backup singers. Barry Kleinbort provided additional lyrics.
Jamie deRoy and Friends – Benefit for the Entertainment Community Fund took place on October 23 at Birdland Jazz, 315 West 44th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenue.
For more information about Entertainment Community Fund or to make a donation, visit https://entertainmentcommunity.org.
Photos courtesy of Barry Gordin
