Kiki & Herb - Wilma Theater, 8/04/06



Kiki & Herb previewed their new Broadway show for four nights at Philadephia's Wilma Theater this week. Initially thinking this to be something of a self-test of my own open mindedness, Kiki & Herb's show quickly exploded the notion that one needs to be gay to enjoy drag queen musical comedy cabaret lounge act theater (not that there's anything wrong with that). Having honed their act for the better part of the past twenty years, Justin Bond totally becomes the aging diva Kiki, and Kenny Mellman is equally at home in the role of her piano man Herb, variously described in the act as a "gay Jewish retard."

Essentially, it's a parody of a lounge act where Herb plays piano and Kiki sings and drinks. The songs are interspersed with lengthy asides that are both historical (tales of their characters' history) and hysterical. As outrageous as the comedy is (the stuffed toy cow on the piano was described as having been in the manger when Jesus was born, and having eaten the afterbirth was bestowed with eternal life), the show hits some serious social and political notes as well without missing a beat.



Beyond the comedy and the commentary, the real key to the show is the excellent musical presentation. Herb is a supremely talented piano player, working the entire night providing accompaniment to the stories as well as the songs. By never breaking character, Kiki gets to have it both ways with the songs, both sending up and celebrating the art of the lounge singer, the aging diva, and even the drag cabaret stereotype from which their act obviously originated. About halfway through the first song when it dawns that you are hearing a lounge version of the current Gnarls Barkley hit "Crazy" it quickly becomes apparent that this is going to be no ordinary ride.

The song selection is both eclectic and goofy and therein lies the charm. Dan Fogelberg would likely have a coronary were he to hear Kiki & Herb's wonderful version of his "Same Old Lang Syne" reimagined as a chance meeting between Kiki and her estranged daughter. Clearly, the more pretentious the song, the better it plays for comedy. One could think of many more songs that would benefit by the Kiki and Herb treatment. The showstopping version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" left that chestnut stuck in my head long after leaving the theater. After the final curtain call, I was left with just one thought: there's no people like show people!


Kiki & Herb with Oprah & Yoko wax figures.

All Kiki & Herb photos courtesy of their website and Myspace page © 2006.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the Main Point, 1964 - 1981

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #5 Begining in 1964, The Main Point in Bryn Mawr provided the Philadelphia area with one of its most enjoyable venues for live music. Although it started as a folk based coffeehouse, all styles of music were presented over the years. Financial problems continually plagued the Main Point, and in spite of frequent benefit shows by artists who loved the place as much as the audience, the club finally closed in 1981. The following brief history is contained in an obituary of Jeanette O. Campbell, one of the founders and owners of the Main Point who died on October 22, 2006, written by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Sally A. Downey as reprinted on the Save Ardmore Coalition website. Jeanette Orndoff Campbell, 89, former owner of the Main Point, a music hall in Bryn Mawr where young talents including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor were introduced to local audiences, died of complications from hip surgery Oct. 22 at Stap
Read more

Cream and Blind Faith at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, 1968 & 1969

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #3 (L-R) Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, & Eric Clapton I could not have foreseen it at the time, but looking back on a concert going history now entering it's fifth decade, my first three concerts were absolutely formative in the development of the music obsession that has driven life as we know it from that point forward. Attending a rock concert pre drivers license was no small feat, that I even got to these shows is the first indication that I knew I was onto something even if I couldn't quite explain it. I've already detailed my first concert (The Beatles at JFK Stadium) in my MMMM#1 . My second and third concerts took place at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, they were less than a year apart, and due to the fact that concerts never end at the time predicted, these concert experiences both ended with a very angry driver stuck waiting in the car outside the venue until the last encore had finished. I shot both concerts with the same starter
Read more

And We Danced - Filming the Hooters Video, 7/27/85

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #4 "And We Danced" (picture sleeve above) was released in 1985 as the second single from the album, Nervous Night , the Hooters' major label debut for Columbia Records. Here's the video. The call went out to the Hooters' mailing list the last week of July 1985 that an audience with cars would be needed on the coming Saturday for a video shoot. Participants would report to the Exton Drive-In by late morning and be prepared to stay all day until after dark. This stage set, early in the day, was a warm-up for the crowd and probably a dry run for the production team for the night-time performance to be filmed later. The banner backdrop does not appear in the video. Some of the antique and custom cars that were on hand for the shoot. The production crew prepares the ticket booth for its shot. This is the film crew shooting the acoustic intro part of the song. The acoustic intro was shot twice, first with t
Read more