Last night was Leading Men III, produced by my colleague Wayman Wong. Not sure if this is going to be an ongoing annual series. I had thought Wayman suggested to me that this was going to be the last, but John Tartaglia ended the night by insisting that we'll see him hosting it again next year.
Anyhow, what's the show's gimmick? It's only men doing cabaret, which is traditionally a diva venue. Last year, Wayman told me that handpicks not only the performers, but which songs they choose, which leads to a very diverse, very engaging evening.
Here is the songlist:
* MICHAEL McELROY: “Let It Sing’’ (“Violet”) by Brian Crawley and Jeanine Tesori
* BOBBY STEGGERT: “Larger Than Life” (“My Favorite Year”) by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty
* AARON RAMEY: “What Do I Need With Love?” (“Thoroughly Modern Millie”) by Dick Scanlan and Jeanine Tesori
* TOM ANDERSEN: “Yard Sale” by Tom Andersen
* JIM CARUSO: “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” (“70, Girls, 70”) by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with additional lyrics by Johnny Rodgers and Jim Caruso
* SKIE OCASIO: “Live Out Loud” (“A Little Princess”) by Andrew Lippa
* BENJAMIN SCHRADER: “Who Can I Turn To?” (“Roar of the Greasepaint”) by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
* JONATHAN GROFF: “Try Me” (“She Loves Me”) by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock
* MARCUS SIMEONE: “Then Again” by Tom Andersen and Tim Di Pasqua
* JOHN TARTAGLIA: “Taylor” by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich
* SKYLAR ASTIN & ROBB SAPP: “You Are My Bitch” (“See Rock City and Other Destinations”) by Brad Alexander and Adam Mathias
* AARON LAZAR: “Younger Than Springtime” (“South Pacific”) by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
* SETH RUDETSKY: “Deconstructing” by Seth Rudetsky
* JIM WALTON: “Good Thing Going” and “Not a Day Goes By” (“Merrily We Roll Along”) by Stephen Sondheim
* DAVID BURNHAM: “That’s Life” by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon
* CHRISTOPHER SIEBER: “One for My Baby” by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen
* NORM LEWIS: “Before the Parade Passes By’’ (“Hello, Dolly!”) by Jerry Herman
It was slightly awkward to have Aaron Lazar, despite his perfect voice, singing "Younger than Springtime"? I feel like there ought to be a moratorium on performing any showtunes from any Broadway musical that is currently in revival. Still, can't help but wonder if Lazar could succeed Morrison in SP, just as he did in Piazza. Needless to say, his performance was fantastic, as always.
But my favorite moment of all - Jim Walton doing Merrily stuff. F#cking amazing.
Also fun was Jim Caruso's revision of "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup" to "Coffee in a Starbucks Cup."