Ari Axelrod

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Ari Axelrod

Chelsea Tables + Stage, NYC, November 28, 2022

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Ari Axelrod

When I first reviewed Ari Axelrod (and I believe it was his first review) in June of 2019 I observed: “He is a singing actor with a creamy voice, a sense of humor, and a fine theatrical sense.” All of these talents have expanded and become enriched over the ensuing two-and-a-half years. As the star took the stage at Chelsea Tables + Stage before a very full house to celebrate the release of his new album Ari Axelrod (Live at Birdland), it was abundantly clear that his confidence and grace have grown with maturity. He is fundamentally a fine actor who inhabits his material. He created fine portrayals of Tevye, his dream role, with an “If I Were a Rich Man” that was a mix of humor and passion; Jean Valjean, with a very fine “Bring Him Home” partially presented in Hebrew; and Bobby (“Being Alive”), which displayed the beauty of his voice as well as the beauty of his interpretation.

Working closely with his music director Lawrence Yurman and with contributions by creative consultant Jeff Harnar, Axelrod created a program that was both inclusive of the audience and highly personal. The emotional highlight of the evening was his discussion of the medical issues that almost took his life at 20. The story was interspersed with a medley of three songs: Benjamin Scheuer‘s “The Cure”; William Finn’s “Holding to the Ground”; and Adam Guettel’s “How Glory Goes” in a sensitive and detailed arrangement by Alex Rybeck, followed by Finn’s “Sailing.” A cabaret song cycle rarely reaches the impact that this one had.

The evening was filled with surprises and unique moments. Axelrod accompanied himself on the bongos for a properly relaxed rendition of “Cool” that somehow evolved into something highly intense and mesmerizing. On the other hand, he revealed his tender side was revealed with a love song version of “Not While I’m Around,” delivered to his beloved dog Leo. The old show-biz adage about not working with animals certainly did not apply. And when he delved into his family history with a tale of his great-great uncle who perished under the Nazis, it led to a fascinating medley of two songs with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg: “The Silent Spring” (music by Harold Arlen) and “Adrift on a Star” (music by Jacques Offenbach), emphasizing not “Jewish resistance” but “Jewish vitality.”

Bringing the show to a sweet and gentle close with “Time After Time,” Axelrod sent the audience out aware of having experienced a very special evening. May there be many more.

Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Nobel, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."