Marci Kraft
A New Party with Marci
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, November 8, 2024
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Photo: Kevin Alvey
The highly talented Marci Kraft threw a party at Don’t Tell Mama that delighted the audience. She had the best party planner in cabaret, icon in Marilyn Maye, who created, directed, and provided the musical arrangements. “Make ‘Em Laugh” (Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown) was especially dandy, and Maye’s touches were apparent throughout. The dandy band consisted of David Pearl (piano), Tom Hubbard (bass), Jack Cavari (guitar), and Daniel Glass (drums). Kraft brought on some special guests in the second (and stronger) half of the show as she evoked some of the most colorful of musical comedy heroines. She kept her patter to a minimum, and always stayed on point.
There was some clever blending of songs throughout the show. “It’s Not Where You Start” (Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields) and “A Cock-Eyed Optimist” (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II) fit together perfectly to create a very personal expression. The pairing of two quite different songs was great fun, especially with a running commentary to identify obscure references: “Ace in the Hole” (James Dempsey/George Mitchell) from 1909 and “Act in the Hole” (Cole Porter) from 1941 were two barely remembered gems that added up to grand entertainment.
More fun came when guest star Sidney Myer gave a wonderful performance of “They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me” (Fred Fisher/Joseph McCarthy) in a grand theatrical style. A lengthy medley of 1950s and ’60s jukebox hits was silly fun, but the best was yet to come. With “Somewhere That’s Green” (Howard Ashman/Alan Menken), “Adelaide’s Lament” (Frank Loesser), and “Crossword Puzzle” (Richard Maltby, Jr./David Shire), Kraft’s prodigious talent as an actor came forth as she found the true character within each of the numbers and illuminated them for the audience. Moments like this are the best of cabaret art.
