Cabaret review by Ron Fassler …
While attending Isaac Mizrahi’s new show at 54 Below, a well-known Shakespeare quote came to mind. In the scene from Hamlet where Polonius is chatting with Hamlet’s mother and stepfather, he pontificates that “Brevity is the soul of wit,” all the while pretentiously yammering on and on.
Mizrahi, who is calling his show “A Brief History,” could take a lesson from that aphorism but then what would be the point? Yammering is what the audience comes to hear from the unscripted flow of observations and personal neuroses he shares. The famous fashion designer, who moonlights as a cabaret performer, is in his element with a microphone and a captive crowd, though what brief history he has in mind is anybody’s guess. From the best I can decipher, he’s talking about last week and the energy that’s been demonstrated by Kamala Harris’s ascension as a Presidential candidate. Or maybe it’s a brief history of music, considering his set ranges from Cole Porter to Billie Eilish. As Mizrahi himself might say, “Whatever.”
With regard to whether we as a nation fall to a certain Republican candidate at the moment leaves him wondering if “it will be the end of the f**king world.” His answer: “I’m going to adapt. I’m getting a gun.” To the audience groans, he responds by being honest. “It’s a dark set, folks. And I don’t want a New York Times obituary. I don’t think they’ll get me.”
That’s only a taste of the flavor of what is essentially a brief history of the world according to Isaac, which is fine with his fans among the sold out crowd at 54 Below who couldn’t get enough of his personal stylings. Call me one of them. The second of four nights between August 28-31, less than half the set involves singing, dominated by his off-the-cuff random thoughts and freely expressed feelings. Not for nothing, there’s even a challah bread baking tutorial thrown in. Not kidding.
Opening with the 1968 cult classic “Come Live with Me” from Valley of the Dolls (what else?), Mizrahi gave Patty Duke a run for her money (or Gail Heidemann that is, who dubbed the singing for her). He powered through “The Laziest Gal in Town,” a Cole Porter song written almost a century ago, althought it could have been written yesterday. And speaking of how time flies, Mizrahi’s rendition of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden & Adolph Green’s plaintive “Some Other Time” was a beauty. He rewrote (once again) Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top,” a staple of these concerts, for which he seems to have an inexhaustive supply of up-to-the-minute lyrics. Yes, he found words to rhyme with Kamala.
The backing musicians – James Sarna, whose trumpet got some particularly sweet solos, John Strasser on drums, Daniel Duke on bass, and musical director Ben Walter on piano – were all in fine form. Shout out to the guest star, New York Times bestselling author and cook Jake Cohen, who actually came on stage with fresh dough to braid challahs. Yes, it was that sort of evening. Bringing along a fresh baked one to sample, it was passed around and, yes, I managed to tear off a piece. Delicious.
And delicious best describes Isaac Mizrahi, witty, sassy and brave. As for his singing, he’s never going to win a Grammy but as my companion said during the show, “I’ve seen professionals at this club who record albums and don’t sound as good as Isaac.” He is an entertainer and, as such, entertains. He is always a breath of fresh air. To cull from another of Shakespeare’s plethora of quotes and metaphors, another that applies to Mizrahi is “The world is my oyster.” He may complain about the things that bother him for comic effect, but what’s clear is that Mizrahi is living his one true authentic life and the more he shares of himself the better a world we all can live in.
Isaac Mizrahi: A Brief History is at 54 Below, 254 W. 54th Street, NYC now August 28-31 at 7:00 pm. Other special guests will be Storm Large (Pink Martini, “America’s Got Talent”) on Aug 30th and Lea DeLaria (“Orange is the New Black,” POTUS) on Aug 31st.
For ticket information, please visit: https://54below.org/events/isaac-mizrahi-a-brief-history/
Photo credit: Michael Allan Galzez.