Get Naked, With Some Reservations
Cabaret does not seem to be a format of entertainment that appeals to everyone. In fact, most fans of the style that I know either starred in their high school production of Pippin and/or could be caught singing "Maybe This Time" in the shower. Then again, The Warehouse Next Door was packed with eager audience members and clear Cabaret fans (this writer included) Tuesday night, so either D.C. has a lot of former theatre people, or cabaret's appeal is becoming more universal.
But how does Naked Cabaret, one of many Fringe cabaret offerings, stack up? While it has some engaging performers and well-chosen songs, it also personifies some of the annoying qualities that turn people off of the genre.
What are those qualities? Exaggerated facials (one performer in particular seems to substitute wide eyes and excessive blinking for expressiveness). Corny interaction with the audience. Painfully-protracted banter. And emotions that don't quite ring true; while the show is set-up as an emotional "therapy session" of sorts that lets its performers get their secrets off their chests, the hugs the singers exchange after a particularly emotional number seem forced rather than convincing.
But tone down these problems, shave about twenty minutes off the length of the show and a few indulgent confessional songs off the lineup, and you'd have an enjoyable night of cabaret. Steven Cupo may have a weird, intentionally creepy vibe going on that quickly wears thin, but the man has great pipes, adding comic relief to such numbers as "Funny/The Duck Joke" and sings his heart out on "The Man That Got Away". Judy Simmons is the show's leader in class and comic timing, selling such numbers as "The Best Thing To Happen To Me," which talks wistfully of a former lover's death at sea, and "The Lift," a sardonic ode to plastic surgery. The rich-voiced Lonny Smith is the group's reigning king of revelatory ballads (and gets bonus points for picking a Jason Robert Brown song). Terri Allen can belt with the best of them, and only Emily Leatha Everson, with her slightly shrill tone and cutesy vibe, left this critic cold.
DCist hopes the Fringe Festival will bring some much-needed attention to the district's cabaret scene, which is more fledging than we realized. But Naked Cabaret needs a bit more fine-tuning before it convinces Joe Public to "come hear the music play."
"Naked Cabaret" has one more performance, July 27 at 6 p.m. Tickets are available here.