Kiki Ball-Change: My Funny Valentine

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Kiki Ball-Change

My Funny Valentine

The Green Room 42, NYC, February 12, 2023

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Kiki Ball-Change

Known as “The Broadway Bimbo of NYC,” Kiki Ball-Change brought her personal energy and impressive voice to The Green Room 42 for a program of love songs done her way. Included in the evening were several clever parodies that she wrote, two impressive guest stars, and some Broadway songs delivered without camp or satire but in a full and solid theatrical belt. Her only flaw was her reliance on a wordy script, which she read and which was a bit distancing and seemed to lock her in. She was much funnier and more relaxed when she deviated from the printed page and ad-libbed and interacted with the audience (“I’m Jewish. No, that has nothing to do with this song”).

Among her parody numbers were “I Hate Apps” (“I Hate Men”) that nearly seemed like lyrics Cole Porter might have written had he come out of the closet; “Taylor the Grindr Boy” (Taylor the Latte Boy), perhaps the wittiest of them all); and “He’s a Top” (“He’s a Tramp”), the briefest of the material and a bit too short to make an impact. Then there was a session of “Drag Libs”—the same as Mad Libs, but done by a drag queen and much filthier thanks to audience suggestions. All those naughty words wound up inserted in “Maybe This Time”; despite the insanity and vulgarity, she sang it brilliantly. She brought the same honest intensity to other songs, including “When He Sees Me” and “Gimme! Gimme!”

Kiki received fine support from her on-stage musicians: Jack Coen on piano, Meghan Doyle on guitar, and Nick Urbanic on drums. She also had two guests: the charming Danny Quanrino and the electrifying Castrata. The former, with impressive Broadway credits and the possessor of a nice tenor voice, was somewhat wasted on a cute but negligible duet called “Romeo & Juliet.” On the other hand, the latter joined in for one of the highlights of the evening—a very theatrical version of “Getting Married Today.” Castrata began with a shimmering counter-tenor of immense beauty for the choral role and then, without a break, shifted to a strong baritone for the bridegroom. Kiki tackled the bride’s role with amazing clarity, considering the torrent of words involved, and performed outrageous choreography at the same time—musical comedy madness indeed.

The diva delivered her Valentine’s Day tribute with an ultra-romantic medley of “My Funny Valentine” and “La Vie en rose” (in French), without relying on any camp, which demonstrated her impressive versatility. Now, if she’ll just discard her printed script.

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."