Cabaret Review by Ron Fassler . . .
For those of you who only know Norbert Leo Butz from his numerous Broadway and off-Broadway credits in both musicals and straight plays (nineteen of them by my count over the last twenty-nine years), you might be surprised to learn that he’s also a recording artist who’s issued three CD’s since 2013. Two of them were recorded live at 54 Below—and one of them—“Girls, Girls, Girls,” first performed in 2016, is being revived this week at the same sweet spot for a five-night engagement. I caught the second performance and let me tell you, I’ve rarely felt the roof blow off 54 Below the way it did last night.
Butz is a singular talent. An electrifying theatre actor with a pair of Best Actor in a Musical Tony Awards to show for it (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me If You Can), he also excels in straight plays (Speed-the-Plow, ENRON), is a terrific dancer (he created Fiyero in Wicked by “Dancing Through Life”), and has essayed a number of memorable roles on film and television (Bloodline, Fosse/Verdon). Having never seen him on a cabaret stage before, I can now add that distinction to the list.
“Girls, Girls, Girls” (despite its racy title) is a serious rumination on the roles women have played over centuries and how much of the time they have been seriously marginalized. Butz is particularly interested in how they are depicted in Greek Mythology, with his theorizing on that taking up a large part of the show. The father of three daughters, he has been surrounded by women in his daily life for many years and uses those personal experiences in an intellectually stimulating way. Again, this is not what you generally get at a cabaret show. But by interweaving mythology stories (as Butz interprets them) with songs that encompass folk, rock, pop and jazz (there are no Broadway tunes in his set), he has created a full-bodied evening of thoughtful and wildly entertaining music. Enthralling, really.
Backed by a phenomenal band, each musician gets a moment in the spotlight to shine. Besides musical directing and playing an artful piano, Michael J. Moritz Jr. offers strong backup vocals, as do guitarist Khaled Tabbara. Fabulous riffs also came courtesy of Alan Stevens Hewitt (bass), Billy LaGuardia (drums), and especially Jimmy Leahey (guitar).
It’s hard to pick out highlights among the trove of songs on Butz’s set list, but Loretta Lynn’s “Mrs. Leroy Brown” was a scorcher (and only the second song of the night), and “From Galway to Graceland,” by Richard Thompson, hit home in a big way. Stephen Trask’s “Wig in a Box,” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, was another that Butz hit out of the park. But the whole evening went like that.
As Butz mentions early on, his current situation includes “my wife and three daughters, ages fourteen to twenty-seven. And though two are out of the house, they come home every weekend for continental breakfasts and amenities.” Maybe he’s not an expert on the subject of women, but he is sure out to try and it’s not for nothing he’s appearing during International Women’s Week. Norbert Leo Butz’s efforts to understand and celebrate not only the women in his life but women the world over, past and present, is a worthy goal and one that is exploding on the small stage at 54 Below through Thursday night. For feminine vibing from a guy with a lot to say on the subject, “Girls, Girls, Girls” is about as smart and fun as it gets.
“Girls, Girls, Girls” is at 54 Below, 254 W 54th Street, NYC. For ticket information, please go to www.54below.org.
Photos by Ron Fassler.