Andre Diniz & Matt Rodriguez: Reasons for Losing It: This Time We’re Addicted

Post author:Bart Greenberg
Post published:February 7, 2025
Reading time:3 mins read

Andre Diniz & Matt Rodriguez

Reasons for Losing It: This Time We’re Addicted

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, January 13, 2025

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Reasons for Losing It: This Time We’re Addicted is definitely not your mother’s cabaret show, unless perhaps your mother is Mother RuPaul. No, it didn’t feature drag, but it often seemed as though it might have. Andre Diniz and Matt Rodriguez charged the stage in the dark, uttering angry and somewhat obscene complaints. Throughout the show they insulted each other, their excellent musicians (Chris Stephens, pianist and co-music director, and Josh Azenberg, percussionist), and their excellent guest star Carlye Messman, and even the audience, who loved every moment of it.

In this, the first (or possibly second) in a proposed series, the subject was addictions in various forms. Diniz and Rodriguez both possessed abundant energy as they maintained an I-don’t-care attitude that was too extreme to be taken seriously. Happily, their voices blended well on the many duets they sang. The musical material consisted mostly of parodies of pop/rock classics that had new lyrics by Diniz, though there were some surprising ventures into musical theater (Annie and Sondheim). There was even a surprising mash-up delivered by Rodriguez of “I Don’t Care” (Jean Lenox/Harr O. Sutton) and “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” (Ray Henderson/Lew Brown) that retained most of the original lyrics and was quite charming. More typical of the show was another medley of “Hot Stuff” (Pete Bellotte/Harold Faltermeyer & Keith Forsey) and “Love to Love You Baby” (Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder & Bellotte), performed as a duet for the two leads of the show.

Guest vocalist Messman brought a strong presence and a powerful voice to the stage as she took part in the Sondheim section, which included a witty “Last Midnight” transformed into “Last Cabaret” that acknowledged the untraditional show the audience was attending. Her humor and vocal ability led to a hope of seeing her in her own program. But it was the two guys in their duets and solos who dominated the stage and the evening as they displayed dazzling clarity with their own lyrics on Sondheim’s “Your Fault” and doing unnatural things to the piano. Their quick return to the cabaret stage is certainly something to look forward to.

Tags: Musicals, Andre Diniz, Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries, Giorgio Moroder, Lyricist, Matt Rodriguez, Ray Henderson, Pete Bellotte, NYC, Reasons for Losing It: This Time We’re Addicted, Lew Brown, Great American Songbook, American Songbook Association, Pianist, Chris Stephens, Clubs, Sondheim, Jean Lenox, songwriter, Josh Azenberg, composer, Broadway, Harry O. Sutton, Vocalists, parodies, Bart Greenberg, Cabaret, Hot Stuff, CD, pop/rock classics, Your Fault, Broadway Musicals, ASA, Singer, Harold Faltermeyer, Last Midnight, Don’t Tell Mama, Annie, Keith Forsey, I Don’t Care, American Songbook, Music Director, Cabaret Reviews, Love to Love You Baby, Nightclubs, percussionist, CD Reviews, Last Cabaret, Cabaret Scenes, Donna Summer

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 & Noble, 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."