‘Thank You, Tom Lehrer’

“Nonsense wakes up the brain cells…If you can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in whack.” Dr. Seuss

By Alix Cohen

Tom Lehrer (1928–2025) was a New York–born songwriter, satirist, and mathematician who became famous in the 1950s and ’60s for his wickedly funny musical humor. A Harvard trained math whiz with multiple degrees, he moonlighted as a performer, releasing albums of original songs packed with dark jokes, political jabs, and clever wordplay.

All the world seems in tune on a spring afternoon/When we’re poisoning pigeons in the park… “It’s not against any religion to want to dispose of a pigeon,” Bobby Underwood quips. The club overflows with devotees who experienced the artist’s love of exploiting contrast between light musical style and morbid subject firsthand.

Many songs were written for Harvard parties and campus events. Lehrer recorded them himself in 1953 simply as a personal keepsake — he didn’t think they had commercial value. He self pressed 400 copies for $15 total, just to have them “as a souvenir.”

I was in no mood to trifle, I took down my trusty rifle/And went out to stalk my prey/What a haul I made that day/I tied them to my fender and I drove them home somehow/Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow…The problem was not who or what he shot, but that cows were out of season and one of the hunters didn’t have insurance.

Lehrer eventually stepped back from show business to focus on teaching math at places like Harvard and UC Santa Cruz. Later in life the artist kept a low profile but delighted fans by putting his lyrics into the public domain, a very Lehrer-ish parting gift from a man who reshaped musical satire with brains, bite, and a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“Be Prepared!” Underwood incites in Lehrer’s revision of the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared to hold your liquor really well/Don’t write naught words on walls if you can’t spell…There’s a song listing “Chemical Elements” with a nod to Danny Kaye’s tongue-twisting “Tchaikovsky (and Other Russians)” and selections from the songwriter’s stint on PBS’s The Electric Company.

Political satire includes “National Brotherhood Week.” Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics/And the Catholics hate the Protestants/And the Hindus hate the Muslims/And everybody hates the Jews/But during National Brotherhood week…Most of this audience chimed in with “Everybody hates the Jews” which shows just how far we haven’t come since then.

There’s pre- World War III nostalgia (written in the 1950s) with: So long mom/I’m off to drop the bomb/Don’t wait up for me, a song on nuclear proliferation, a song on pollution and one on the easy spread of disease- all of which sound uncomfortably relevant.

An oom-pah waltz celebrates Alma Mahler who successively married Gustav (Mahler), Walter (Gropius) and Franz (Werfel) “It’s people like Alma who make you realize how little you’ve accomplished,” Lehrer comments.

At the piano, MD Zalman Mlotek is precise, expressive, and contributes an occasional jaunty vocal. Underwood is talented, personable, and excellent with ersatz foreign accents. Patter includes some of Lehrer’s own introductions, apt, updated references, and a few we-hope-are-true , clever anecdotes about a Lehrer connection to the thespian’s mom.

When the project came together, the collaborators wrote to 97 year-old Lehrer (now deceased). He wrote back. Both letters are read aloud. The correspondence is charming.

“The Vatican Rag”, a parody written in 1965, is a satirical response to the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) which introduced major reforms to modernize Catholic worship, including loosening restrictions on the kinds of music allowed in services. Lehrer seized on the moment : First you get down on your knees/Fiddle with your rosaries/Bow your head with great respect/And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect…

The show closes with seasonal classic “I’m Spending Hanukkah in Santa Monica.” Many songs are great, all are insightful, articulate, and droll. The evening is a hoot.

Performance Photos by Kara D’Angelo
Opening: Tom Lehrer- Public Domain; Lehrer’s first album- Public Domain

Thank You, Tom Lehrer
Featuring actor/vocalist Bobby Underwood and
Zalman Mlotek, Musical Director of The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene https://nytf.org/

Thank You, Tom Lehrer will be repeated on February 16, 2026
Get there well before the doors open to line up. Open seating is a challenge.
City Winery 25 11th Avenue
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