Jamie deRoy & friends

Birdland, NYC, July 11, 2022

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Glamorous hostess Jamie deRoy returned with another of her periodic variety shows, proving that she knows the most talented people and has the nicest friends. It was a benefit for the newly renamed The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly known as The Actors Fund. (There was a running joke throughout the evening that everyone preferred the former title while fully supporting the organization’s goals.) Birdland was packed with fans and show-biz names. DeRoy kept things bubbling along with the lightest of touches and a great sense of humor. She also opened and closed the event with the witty and well-delivered songs “I’m Too Old to Die Young” (Murray Grand, with upgraded lyrics by director of the evening Barry Kleinbort) and the very knowing “Jews Don’t Camp” (David Buskin).

First up was Ben Jones, who possesses the widest of vocal ranges and a fine flexibility as a performer. His faux torch singing gave way to an audience sing-along of “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton. This was a sheer delight and a perfect contrast to his emotional, swinging “I Wanna Be Around,” which included Johnny Ray-style high notes. Next to the stage and providing something very different was Daisy Jopling, an exciting classical violinist who, in addition to her musical skills, possesses a great deal of energy and charm. Whether offering up the self-composed “Viento” or the classic “Czardas” (Vittorio Monti), she thrilled the audience with her passion for the music and her dramatic use of the entire wide stage of Birdland.

The next guest, the actor/comedian Robert Klein, was the highlight of a show that was pretty much made up of highlights. He announced that he had recently turned 80, but his energy and command of the stage belied that confession. His tale of attending a strike meeting for actors, in which he created varied comic snapshots of those involved was hysterical. He was unashamedly inappropriate and simply great fun. To top it all, he offered a lovely version of the first song he had earned for his leading role in They’re Playing Our Song, “Falling.”

Klein was a hard act to follow, but Lianne Marie Dobbs met the challenge. She used her warm brandy of a voice to imbue two standards with emotion and freshness. “Witchcraft” cast a seductive spell cast upon the audience and “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?” was a master class in how to build a song from tentative emotions to power-belt epiphany. The evening was brought to a more than satisfying close with the appearance of songwriter/pianist/singer Julie Gold, who delighted the audience with a wryly observed “Genius Bar” and, inevitably, her greatest hit, the timely and emotionally touching “From a Distance.”