Randy Zinkus
Just for Laughs
Apple Tree Arts, Grafton, MA, April 12, 2025
Reviewed by John Amodeo
Worcester native and former Bostonian Randy Zinkus returned to the cabaret stage for the first time in over 20 years and given the cheers and the standing ovation at the end of the show, one might hope this will become a regular recurrence. His return this month to the Boston area from his Fort Lauderdale home was primarily intended to celebrate his mother’s 89th birthday. But his friend and cabaret performer Valerie Sneade-Roy used his visit to book him into her monthly cabaret series in her hometown of historic Grafton, a quintessential New England village just outside of Worcester. Add in the extraordinary pianist Jim Rice (another Worcester native) and you had a trio that was bound to pull in the local crowd. Aure enough, the house was packed.
But facing a packed house after not having performed a solo cabaret show in 20-odd years was a surefire way to frazzle any performer’s nerves. At the outset, Zinkus’ nerves were evident; he was clearly focused on singing the lyrics correctly and in the right order, a mission that he didn’t always accomplish. After a few numbers, however, he found his stride and settled into a show that was both amusing and moving, beautifully sung, and heartfelt throughout. The song list itself was pure gold and contained many gems from the Great American Songbook, along with some surprising contemporary numbers both comic and poignant. The journey he took us on was smooth sailing the whole way, and we willingly joined him on this sunny tour through song and through life.
True to his show title, Just for Laughs, he had the audience guffawing from the get-go as he desperately searched for the part in the heavy velvet stage curtains through which he was to enter after he was introduced. It’s an old gag, but we all happily fell for it. When he finally did appear, the guffaws turned to bravos for Zinkus’ smashingly dapper cobalt-blue suit and skinny-brimmed fedora, which he sported handsomely along with his newly svelte physique.
The early nerves and occasionally dropped lyrics never seemed to slow down Zinkus’ steady pace. Despite his long absence from the cabaret stage, we always knew we were in the hands of a skilled performer, and we easily relaxed into his cadence and gorgeous material. Time has been kind to Zinkus, and you can’t say that about everyone. His once youthful buttery baritone has deepened into a richly textured velvety sound that is a soothing salve for sore ears. And his connection to his material, which has always been present, has become stronger and sharper.
Zinkus’ strength lies in this sense of humor, which was most potent when it was improvised. There was no story line in his patter, which was only lightly scripted. Instead, his segues consisted mostly of ad-libbed reactions to what was happening on stage or in the house. This paid dividends as he quipped his way from song to song.
Oh, the songs! He opened with the Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz ditty “Shine on Your Shoes,” which perfectly complemented the sophisticated figure he cut when he entered and set an upbeat tone for the show. His lively Irving Berlin dance medley—“Change Partners and Dance with Me”/“It Only Happens When I Dance with You”/“Cheek to Cheek”—was a fun arrangement that, along with pianist Jim Rice’s effervescent accompaniment, just glided seamlessly from one song to the next and back again. One would never have known that Zinkus was worried about lyrics when he sang his way through Howard Crabtree’s delightfully wordy list song, “Elizabeth Taylor” (from Whoop-Dee-Doo). He nonchalantly worked his way through it and tickled every funny bone in the house. So good was his dead-panned delivery that by the final verse the audience was laughing before the punch line, knowing what was coming.
Though his show was called Just for Laughs, Zinkus knew how to make us cry, too. His honest version of “Where or When” (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart) tugged at every heartstring, even when the tempo transitioned midway into a bright swing. He delivered Jerry Herman’s “Song on the Sand” with such genuine tenderness that when he finished, the audience held its breath for a beat, heaved a collective sigh, and then applauded wildly. The dramatic high point of the show came at just the right time, three-quarters of the way through, with “I’ll Be Here” (Adam Gwon, from Ordinary Days) about a true love that ends tragically but opens up greater possibilities in life. Zinkus was riveting here, as he appeared to live the song and drew tears from just about everyone present. His comforting finale, “Help Is on the Way” (David Friedman) easily set up his encore “Here’s to Life” (Artie Butler/Phyllis Molinary), which was both poignant and celebratory and left us wiping more tears away to reveal our emerging joy. When cabaret is this good, what do a few dropped lyric matter? Welcome back, Randy Zinkus; please make this an annual event!
