Ira Lee Collings

Naked from the Neck Up

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, January 19, 2019

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg for Cabaret Scenes

With immense charm, an impish sense of humor, and a surprisingly strong voice considering his age, Ira Lee Collings returned to Don’t Tell Mama. Offering a fine example of “gay geezer power,” the entertainer took us on an “adventure into my life,” divided into separate acts—not necissarily in chronological order. His life, as he recalls, was not all perfection, but he took the good and the bad and turned it into quite a celebration. Without irony, his favorite song is John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Yes,” a perfect reflection of his can-do attitude.

Dapper in a tuxedo, Collings presented a varied collection of songs accompanied by music director John M. Cook. He did, however, choose favorites from the golden age of Broadway, such as the wonderful jazz waltz (a term he discovered upon moving to New York City), “Come Once in a Lifetime” (Jule Styne/Betty Comden & Adolph Green) and a very laid back, but naughtily fun, “An Occasional Man” (Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane).

The emotional highlight of the show was his performance of two songs used to describe the meeting of his long-term partner/husband: “Strangers in the Night” (Charles Singleton/Eddie Snyder/Ben Kaempfert) and “Do You Want to Dance?” (Robert Freeman). This love affair didn’t interfere with his serenading two members of the audience brought to the stage: first a young lady—“Ain’t She Sweet” (Milton Ager/Jack Yellen)—and later a gentleman— “Mr. Wonderful” (Jerry Bock/Larry Holofcener/George David Weiss).

Under the direction of Sally Darling, the performance never lagged. Dispensing songs, humor, and lessons learned throughout his life, Collings observed “when you’re 83, you take your epiphanies where they come.” We were happy, and will continue to be happy to take all he has to offer.