Jane Kinsey

She’s So Close!

E Spot Lounge at Vitello’s, Studio City, CA,  May 1, 2016

Reviewed by Elliot Zwiebach for Cabaret Scenes

Jane Kinsey is an amazing bundle of pure cabaret joy. She exudes entertainment in everything she does, whether singing, sharing personal anecdotes, interacting with audience members, being a gracious hostess or laughing at her own onstage flubs.

In an evening of stories about her close encounters over the years with a wide variety of celebrities, she showed everyone that she herself deserves to be celebrated as well for her abundant talent to amuse.

She came out dynamically confident with a terrific version of the sassy “The Life of the Party” (John Kander/Fred Ebb, from The Happy Time), then switched gears effortlessly with a tender “My Ship” (Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill, from Lady in the Dark), followed by a powerful take on the always-powerful “They Just Keep Moving the Line” (Marc Shaiman/Scott Wittman).

She showed a lot of personality on “I Love the Nightlife” (Alicia Bridges/Susan Hutcheson), starting the song rubato and overly dramatic, then building to its full disco rhythm.

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She showed off her dramatic chops and silky voice on “Meantime” (Al Stillman/Robert Allen) and “Meet You at the Moon” (Imelda May), a gorgeous song based on an Irish poem (“When we miss each other so/Look up/I’ll meet you at the moon”).

Kinsey was ably backed by Michael Collom, her musical director, on piano and occasional vocal harmony, Bill Markus on bass, and Tom Bowe on drums.
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Guest performer Mitch Ellis, a spot-on jazz singer, demonstrated superb vocal phrasing in a relaxed, expressive take on “Lulu’s Back in Town” (Al Dubin/Harry Warren), accompanied solely by Markus, followed by a great scat solo during a duet with Kinsey on “I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out!” (written by guitarist Herb Ellis, Mitch’s father, along with John Frigo and Lou Carter), and later with subtle harmonies on “Hello in There” (John Pine).

Kinsey’s other guest was David Lucky, who took over the piano to sing one of his originals — “Someone” — that featured his usual mix of tender and funny about a man looking for the perfect someone to love (“Even Attila called somebody hon”). That was followed by a solid duet on a Ray Jessel classic, “Life Sucks and Then You Die.”

Kinsey closed the show, which was produced and directed by Clifford Bell, with a powerful sentiment — to hold out for what you really want in life — and a powerful closer:  “Hold Out for the Real Thing” (Michele Brourman/Karen Gottlieb). For cabaret fans, Kinsey IS the real thing.
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