Russ Goeltenbodt
No Foolin’
Skokie Theatre, Skokie, IL, April 1, 2017
Reviewed by Carla Gordon for Cabaret Scenes
Amiable crooner Russ Goeltenbodt celebrated his 60th birthday with his engaging original parody “I Just Turned Sixty” —to “You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want to Do It”) — at the Skokie Theatre with a 140 or so of his best friends. His prior shows have been highly personal; No Foolin’ continued the tradition, offering Goeltenbodt’s reflections on his roller coaster love life, past and present. Reminding the audience that he will point to his eyes every time he sings “eyes” in “Them There Eyes,” he explores physical attraction.
Following “Boystown” (a parody to “Downtown”), Goeltenbodt shares his story of going home with the lad he encountered in the bar to discover that the lad’s boudoir was obsessively decorated in Winnie the Pooh paraphernalia. He puts a lot of oomph into the grand revenge song “I Wanna Be Around,” after sharing a more recent story of being unceremoniously dumped by a romantic partner by a text message. He then lamented the situationally-based celibacy with lyricist Scott Urban’s outrageously funny parody, “I Gotta Please Me.” There were songs about falling in love, such as “My Romance” and “You’re Just Too Good to Be True”; songs of doubt, such as “I’m a Fool to Want You”; and songs like “Down with Love,” in which falling sounds like a bad idea.
Vocally, Goeltenbodt is at his best in the lower register which, as he considers encore performances of No Foolin’, he may want to keep in mind. Also, cabaret requires less staging than perhaps musical theater and that it is important that any staging results in the singer being visible and well lit.
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A substantial section the show was devoted to honoring a well-loved cabaret fan’s April 1 birthday (Goeldenbodt’s was actually in January.) It had to have meant more to those among us who admire this lady than for audience members who didn’t know her. Musical Director Mark Burnell provided just the right support. Ending with the audience singing along to “What the World Needs Now Is Love” delivered an optimistic note that resonated with all.
