Sean Patrick Murtagh
Tuff Shift! Live!: Surviving the Job. Living the Dream?
Post Office Café and Cabaret, Provincetown, MA, June 12, 2026
Reviewed by John Amodeo
Photo courtesy of the performer
In his leopard-print silk blouse (unbuttoned nearly to the waist to reveal his furry chest) and matching leopard-print wedgies, black turban, gold costume pearls, mascara, and “Jungle Red” lips with matching nails, Sean Patrick Murtagh’s striking gender-bending appearance fit right into the vision of CabaretFest’s producing artistic director David Rhodes of a diverse and inclusive program. What was more striking was that Murtagh never referred to it. He spoke, sang, and gestured without being flamboyant, which made his appearance appear as normal, casual, and incidental to us as it was to him. Having established that baseline, Murtagh made it easy for us to just sit back and enjoy his highly entertaining show, TUFF SHIFT! LIVE! Surviving the Job. Living the Dream?, which he performed on June 12 at the Post Office Café and Cabaret.
Rather than perform a full cabaret show, Murtagh fashioned a live version of his online podcast TUFF SHIFT, which features those hardworking hospitality workers who also strive to make it as an actor, dancer, or entertainer. As he does in his online podcasts, Murtagh sang a few songs, then brought on a guest in the hospitality industry who sidelines as an actor/singer, Sean Schwebke. Murtagh was an engaging host and interviewer, and he paced the music and the interview well. He sang three songs and had Schwebke sing one also. As fascinating as the interviewing was, the show could have been better with maybe one more song to keep things more upbeat.
Part of the reason that another song would have helped is that Murtagh has such a captivating singing voice. He has a well-trained baritone with leading-man character. Instead, he tantalized us with just three songs, which left us wanting more; in this instance, more would have been better. But the three he performed were thematically apt and highly entertaining. Before the guest interview, he treated us to “Ooh! My Feet” (Frank Loesser from The Most Happy Fella) and the theme song from Season 1 of the 1980s TV sitcom Gimme a Break!, (Bob Christianson/Bob Garrett and Marley Sims). He sang both songs with the conviction that could only come from experience.
Schwebke works at The Shipwreck Lounge, an upscale craft-cocktail bar in Provincetown across from the Gifford House. It is likely few of his patrons know what a talented singer this handsome man is. After the interview, he treated us to a powerful and emotionally driven “Back to Before” (Stephen Flaherty/Lynn Ahrens), which displayed a talent that needs to be seen and heard more.
Through Murtagh’s well-crafted interview, we learned much about Schwebke’s hospitality life and how he came to Provincetown en route to New York City, He had typical small-town Hispanic-boy dreams of becoming an actor. But he never left Provincetown, despite having taken jobs with 17-hour days three days in a row and dealing with sometimes tiresome and rude customers. His compensation for that was being surrounded by water on three sides and always hearing the birds chirping. Murtagh easily teased personal anecdotes from Schwebke that revealed his dedication to his work in hospitality and as a performing artist. He further noted he keeps his skills honed by routinely being asked to be a guest singer at the shows of his many friends who perform in town.
To close the live podcast, Murtagh told us that he made his final cocktail as a working bartender this past March and is now entirely focused on his podcasts and work as a performing artist. Waxing philosophical, he asked himself if he had done the right thing by working in hospitality, and he answered “yes.” Then he asked himself whether he had stayed too long in that business, and he also answered “yes.” But he confidently concluded that “It’s a decent living and at the end of the day, it’s a living.” He then segued perfectly into his closing number, the aptly chosen theme song to another 1980’s sitcom It’s a Living by George Aliceson Tipton and Leslie Bricusse. Murtagh’s show left us with newfound respect for those in the hospitality business who so work hard to serve us and for those who work even harder to keep their dreams as a performing artist alive. Remember to tip your waiter!
