In the Matter of the Set List

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In the Matter of the Set List

By Jacqueline Parker

Jacqueline Parker

In the spirit of wanting the cabaret world that we all love to be as professional, as efficient, and as well-respected as possible, the following comments may be useful to all of us. There are three entities of concern here: the venue, the artist, and the reviewer. This is an attempt to offer guidelines for all three.

I recently reviewed a show at a relatively new venue and asked for the set list, which took a while to get. It should always be presented at seating, but I had to ask for it a few times. It is not just an amenity for reviewers, it is a vital component for what we do.

When I finally got the list, which had been created by the artist, it was a bit sloppy. The printing was askew, the names of the songs were incorrect or incomplete, there was no mention of the song’s composer or lyricist, and the musicians were not named. Recently I was handed another list that didn’t include the name of the artist! What follows is advice for artists that would help both their personal presentation and their reviewers.

54 Below has set lists that appeared to be printed on its letterhead. The name of the artist, the show title, and the date appeared at the top. The songs were listed with the composer and lyricists in parentheses, and all the songs titles were spelled correctly. It’s also a good idea to include the name of the show or the movie for which the song was written. Any anecdotal information you may have about a song is always useful, although it is not always necessary. On a recent set list, “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” was written as … “That Man!” Easy rule: copy the title exactly as it appears on the published sheet music.

This format is immensely important—it allows the reviewer to remain totally focused on the performers and their overall presentations, without missing one nuance. Performers may not understand some of this reasoning. Many times, we may know these songs better than the singer does. Seeing the “menu,” so to speak, allows reviewers to consider the juxtaposition of songs and even to think about the journey the artist is about to take us on, which we can glean from seeing the songs’ titles. A reviewer who is busy scribbling names and titles could miss something as simple—yet outstanding—as Jeff Harnar’s expressive eyebrows, which convey so much (as do Karen Mason’s shoulder thrusts); that’s almost inevitable. The spell is broken, so to speak, and a part of a review is to convey how the entire experience felt, not just sounded.

Why is this important? First of all, for appearance. A complete song list presents the venue and artist in a classy way. Further, reviewers need this information, and if it’s not readily available, we—if we are responsible—must research it. We’d much rather not have to interrupt the flow of thought on how wonderful the show was to become quasi-librarians. Also, if the composer and lyricist are not mentioned, that becomes a different task. For example, there are several songs that have the same name. At a recent show, the opening number was such a song, and it made for a stunning opening. I would have liked to have led off my review with that reference, but since I couldn’t discern who wrote it, I left it out. This was a disservice to the artist, given that the song was a terrific opening number! Wasted, for those who weren’t there.

Now that I’ve connected the dots, so to speak, on this issue, let me assign responsibility. Artists, you have the ultimate responsibility for making sure you have a set list ready for reviewers. Venues have the right to demand that the set list be provided in time for the reviewers. Next-morning delivery is like having the soup after dessert. We reviewers are honor bound to deliver a review that is honest and serves the venue and the artist well to the best of our ability.

Cabaret Scenes, which is the premier publication for cabaret reviews, is a stickler on these points, and rightly so. Often, reviewers are must meet a deadline and would much prefer to spend the time writing about the show than doing research. Reviewers can serve their readers—and the artists they review—better when they are able to do that.

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Jacqueline Parker

Like Ethel Merman, lifelong New Yorker Jacqueline Parker began her career as a stenographer. She spent more than two decades at the city's premier public agency, progressing through positions of increased responsibility after earning her BA in English from New York University (3.5 GPA/Dean’s List). She won national awards for her work in public relations and communication and had the privilege of working in the House of Commons for Stephen Ross, later Lord Ross of Newport. In the second half of her career, Jacqueline brought her innate organizational skills and creative talents to a variety of positions. While distinguishing herself in executive search, she also gave her talents to publishing, politics, writing, radio broadcasting and Delmonico's Restaurant. Most recently, she hosted Anything Goes! a radio show that paid homage to Cole Porter and by extension the world of Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook. Other features of the show were New York living, classical music, books, restaurants, architecture and politics. This show highlighted the current Broadway scene, both in New York and around the country through performances and interviews with luminaries including Len Cariou, Charles Strouse, Laura Osnes, Steve Ross and Joan Copeland. Her pandemic project was immersion into the life, times and work of Alfred Hitchcock, about whom she has written a soon-to-be-published article. Jacqueline has been involved in a myriad of charitable causes, most notably the Walt Frazier Youth Foundation, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Sisters of Life, York Theatre, and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is a proud Founder of Hidden Water. Her greatest accomplishment is the parenting of her son, a lawyer specializing in mediation. She has many pretend grandchildren, nieces and nephews, on whom she dotes shamelessly, as well as a large circle of friends to whom she is devoted. Her interests in addition to theater and cabaret are cooking, entertaining, reading, and spending time on Queen Mary 2.