Michael Cummings
Happy Birthday to Me:
A Celebration of Me, Celebrating You, Celebrating Me
The Triad, NYC, September 14, 2018
Reviewed by Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes
Michael Cummings was back and dynamic as ever. It isn’t hard to put into words the type of person he is. There are simply many sides to this man, who at first appears so predictable only to blossom before you into the gentleman extraordinaire that steals the moment. His new show took the classic Birthday cabaret and turned it on its head, with Cummings putting on a display of instrument after instrument as he took up the melodica, the tin whistle, and the violin.
At first, he flubbed it a little before showing off the stupendous variety and depth of his ability. He might be one of the best violinists to grace a cabaret stage, but yet, as he humbly mentioned, it just happened to have been one of those things that he has done.
The show was inevitably about Cummings, and he chose songs that helped to show off his abilities. He played the melodica during his performance of “Careless Whisper” (George Michael/Andrew Ridgeley) and stoked the audience into singing along to the Celine Dion hit “My Heart Will Go On” while he played the tin whistle during the interludes. Beyond that, he also brought musical theater into the evening with a shout out to “featured ensemble” members.
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which happen to be his dream roles. Referencing Wicked and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he sealed the moment with an extraordinary performance of an off-scene part of Les Misérables, “At the Barricade,” where as a “dead body” he belted “You at the barricade listen to this!” with his face turned away from the audience,
Cummings was joined by friends Katia Malarsky and Joshua J. Bennett. Malarsky and Cummings performed an intense “No More Tears”/“Enough Is Enough” the famous Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer duet. However, it was Cummings’ change in “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” that truly highlighted his talent as a violinist. In the original version, the violin duel between the Devil and Johnny has Johnny winning. In Cummings’ version, he trades out the original violin solo for Vittorio Monti’s “Czardas” and, this time, the Devil wins.
Pianist Jody Schum and drummer Noah Hyams added solid musical accompaniment to the evening.
Watch for this performer; each time he takes the stage it surely is a treat.
