Cabaret Corner
 |
|---|
| Eric Michael Gillet |
Cast of Thousands: Gillet Sings Carnella
By Peter Haas, ComedyBeat
Eric Michael Gillet brings grand gifts to his cabaret evening, “Cast of Thousands − Gillet Sing Carnelia.” One is his rich, trained baritone, offered with consistent power and unflagging energy throughout his 90-minute solo stint on stage. Another is the respect he shows his audience in letting the songs speak for themselves: no introductions, no scene-setting, no patter, but, instead, the simplest, most honest of characterizations as he sits on a stool and draw us in to the experiences the songs project.
Craig Carnelia created the music and lyrics for the theater pieces, Is There Life After High School?, 3 Postcards and Actor, Lawyer, Indian Chief. He contributed several songs to the Broadway show, Working, adapted from Studs Terkel’s book of portraits-in-monologue of Chicago working people.
Carnelia’s special gift is capturing the essence of people’s lives in song − for example, “Joe,” a retired man who loves to attend fires; “The Mason” and “Just a Housewife,” self-portraits from Working; “Come on Snow,” a child’s delighted encouragement of the elements to shut down school; “The Picture in the Hall,” a remembrance of family; “Just Where They Should Be,” a quiet celebration of household items that represent a relationship; and “Life on Earth,” a discovery excitedly reported by an alien in space.
Eric Michael Gillet is a MAC and Bistro award-winning actor-singer, sought-after cabaret director, and considered the foremost interpreter of Carnelia’s work. The current show − an update, after 15 years, of his original presentation of Carnelia’s songs, and the forerunner of a planned theatrical version − is playing three Fridays in January at Don’t Tell Mama. It’s a one-man tour de force, one of the finest, most moving and most magnetic shows that cabaret has offered.
Top-flight musical direction and piano accompaniment, and the sharing of a song, were provided by Jeff Cubeta. A number of the musical arrangements were those of Christopher Denny, who had provided them for the original production of Cast of Thousands at Eighty-Eights, in Greenwich Village.
Fridays at 7 PM, January 7, 14 and 21, 2011
Don’t Tell Mama
343 West 46th Street
Reservations: 212-757-0788 (after 4 PM)
Or reserve on-line at www.donttellmamanyc.com