Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . .
Lee Roy Reams has been a sparkling personality in the world of show biz for more than sixty years. A musical theatre wunderkind, a cabaret performer, and a Broadway director, he’s perennially youthful and, for those who know him, perpetually naughty. Over the course of his career he’s played everything from “Young Spanish Man” in Sweet Charity (1966) to being Tony nominated for Featured Actor in a Musical for 42nd Street (1980). He also replaced as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast and as Roger De Bris in The Producers and, perhaps most famously, created the role of Duane Fox in Applause. The Tony Award winning Best Musical of 1970 cast Reams as hairdresser to Lauren Bacall’s Margo Channing, which made him the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay character in a Broadway musical. I saw the show when I was thirteen and it was a revelation, trust me.
That Lee Roy remains a revelation is uncontested. At eighty-two, he opened a brand new cabaret act this weekend at 54 Below for a two-night engagement devoted to his lifelong friendship with Bacall titled “Me and Betty.” Hilarious and touching, Lee Roy is never more comfortable than when he’s holding court. And the sold out crowd at the Saturday night performance I attended were enraptured by his story telling. He managed to intersperse eleven songs into the show, still belting out in his strong tenor voice, perhaps diminished by time, but certainly not by bravado. When someone loves performing as much as he does, it’s a special treat to see him command the stage. Even getting off to a shaky start forgetting lyrics in his opening number (note: it didn’t happen again for the remainder of his repertoire), he cried, “I fucked up!” He’s so honest and open that none of it mattered.
Aided and abetted by his longtime accompanist and musical director, Alex Rybeck, the smart and savvy choice of songs led to some beautiful moments. A loving rendition of “Don’t Ever Leave Me,” fit right into the storytelling, sounding as fresh as it probably did when first introduced by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein in 1929’s Sweet Adeline. Such standards “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (George Cory/Douglass Cross), “As Time Goes By” (Herman Hupfeld), and “Here’s That Rainy Day” (Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke) didn’t make the evening so much nostalgic as it did timeless. His closing song, a salute to Bob Donohoe, his late husband of fifty years (the final four legally married), was a gem.
The bulk of the evening consisted of Lee Roy’s telling of tales highlighting his forty-four year friendship with Lauren Bacall, Betty to all who knew her intimately. His nights after Applause riding home with her in her limo, being welcomed into her dressing room to meet every celebrity who came to see the show, and staying true to her during the difficult years when old age took its toll (she lived to one month shy of her 90th birthday). The dropping of names added tremendous spice and when he mentioned hanging out with giants like Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and George Burns. It was touching to hear Lee Roy’s take away from them was their separate beliefs that to survive and enjoy show business for as long as they all did was to simply enjoy the work. That credo has served him well as has his audiences, who are the true beneficiaries.
Towards the end of the show, personal photos of his years with Bacall were projected on the large TV screens on both sides of the stage. They say pictures don’t lie and it’s so obvious that their affection for one another was the real deal.
Funny, wistful, bawdy, and brash, “Me and Betty” has the distinction of being one of the most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen at 54 Below (and I’ve seen a lot of them). To that, a huge thank you to Lee Roy Reams, still going strong in every outstanding way and standing the test of time.
Lee Roy Reams: “Me and Betty” played 54 Below January 24 and 25, 2025. For further information on future programming, please visit www.54Below.com.
Photos by Ron Fassler.
