Matthew Rosenstein
Make Me French
The Laurie Beechman Theatre, NYC, July 14, 2026
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Courtesy of the performer
Matthew Rosenstein was born in New York City and grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey. But from an early age, his heart and soul were in Paris, France. An early view of Les Misérables created the need to be there, and his prank phone calls to the reservation desk of Air France built it exponentially. At 19, he finally made it to Paris as a student—and soon “made” his 40-year-old professor as well—and dived deeply into its culture, its food, its nightlife, and its traditions. He would later return to Paris with a job, a boyfriend, and a wonky apartment that was burgled. He regaled a packed house at The Laurie Beechman Theatre with these adventures and more in his highly entertaining and very intelligent show, Make Me French.
From the moment he took the stage, Rosenstein radiated both warmth and intelligence. Within five minutes, he conveyed the idea and the mood of the show. This was all very smart cabaret, with credit for that goes to him and his director/co-writer Robbie Rozelle. But the creativity went far beyond the mechanics to include a great deal of humor, witty props, and a deep heart as well. The opening was a blend of “Belle” (Alan Menkin/Howard Ashman), with new and appropriate lyrics, and “Go the Distance” (Menkin/David Zippel), which was very funny and gave Rosenstein the chance to show off his impressive baritone. Vocal back up was provided by Jessica Brams-Miller and pianist/music director Michael Cuschieri, who personified reoccurring characters as snarky Parisians.
Among the highlights of the evening were a mashup of two David Yazbek tunes, “Nothing Is Too Wonderful to Be True” and “Here I Am,” delivered with genuine enthusiasm and two Cole Porter songs, “I Love Paris,” featuring a great piano solo by Cuschieri, and the poignant “You Don’t Know Paree.” The latter was especially beautifully gifted to the audience with a calm elegant surface and the roil of emotion beneath. There were also selections offered up in French such as “Laissez-Moi Danser” (Christiano Minellono/Pierre Delanoe/Salvatore Cutugno) and “L’Amour, c’est comme une cigarette” (Gilles Thibaut/Andre Popp). These briefly transformed The Beechman into a French disco (with a bit of help from the excellent tech crew).
Make Me French was the ideal mix of a personal theme and a great story told through humor and excellent songs. With excellent and subtle musical back-up by Cuschieri, Tina Lama on bass and Steve Picataggio on drums, all the elements came together. Everyting was beautifully resolved in the final number, “Hymne a l’amour” (Marguerite Monnot/Edith Piaf/Hiroyuki Takei/Fumiaki Uemura); it was the perfect choice.
