An historian once claimed that the most influential thinkers of our time -- Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Einstein -- were all Jews, and offered the following explanation. As outsiders in their societies, they sought universal theories that would include all human beings, eliminating the entire concept of insider and outsider. Gary Negbaur offered no comparable theories about why so many renowned American songwriters were Jews. A self-described nerdy songwriter, he is just happy to have so many "tribesmen" to identify with. And so, with tongue in cheek through some of his performance at the Metropolitan Room, he fashioned a show around the work of Jewish composers and lyricists, such as Irving Berlin and the Gershwin brothers. With collaborations, such as Heart and Soul by Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael, one had to be Jewish to warrant inclusion in the evening's fare.

Ethnic pride and identity aside, the show was only loosely put together. At times, Negbaur deviated from his theme, as, for example, when he informed the audience that he has performed on cruise ships, segueing into "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat," and then a medley of "Blue Skies" and "Stormy Weather."

But his meandering did not keep the evening's entertainment from being fun. For one, Negbaur is a mean jazz pianist and his arrangements are rollicking and original. "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof is played with a rapid Latino tempo. Negbaur is smart (he was graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard) and the combination of intelligence and a pleasing voice was apparent in such numbers as Rodgers and Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me." A lively scat peppered "Makin' Whoopee". Negbaur's own songs are clever, on such subjects as Passover in Kansas City and surrogate parenting in "My Ex Has a Wife." "Alphabet Love" is his contribution to the blues genre. And, finally, the quasi-allusion in his show's title to the medieval troubadour love song tradition was made clear when he called on his wife Yvette to sing three solos. She has a lovely voice and musical theater background.

After an opening in which Negbaur briefly sang at the mike, he took his place at the piano and thereafter sang to his own accompaniment (and that of a bass player). At the end of the show, we thought how much fun it would be to go to a party at which Negbaur was part of the entertainment, or how terrific a draw he could be at a piano bar. To turn this show into a significant cabaret event, however, he would have to do a better job convincing his audience that it mattered that a song was written by a Jew rather than a Gentile, or that culture played some role in the formation of the Great American Songbook.

Barbara Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
October 17, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org