Oleg Frish: An Intimate Evening with Oleg Frish and His Friends

Ron Forman | April 14, 2016

Oleg Frish

An Intimate Evening with Oleg Frish and His Friends

Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, April 8, 2016

Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes

Oleg-Frish-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212 Seeing Russian-born television and radio personality Oleg Frish perform is always a joyfully entertaining experience. The exuberance and energy he displays while singing is contagious and it is great fun to watch him. Having a seven-piece orchestra brought out the best in him, whether he was singing in English (with a Russian accent), Russian, French, Spanish or Yiddish. He was joined by rock ’n’ roll star Gary U.S. Bonds.

Frish opened with “On the Sunny Side of the Street” that perfectly set the mood for the rest of the show. “Around the World” had Frish singing in three languages. A very funny story about his experiences with immigration officers led into “Rhode Island Is Famous for You.” He worked smoothly with the orchestra for two big band classics—“I’ve Heard That Song Before” and “Day by Day.” He paid homage to jazz singer Helen Merrill (who was in the audience) with a very nice “The Things We Did Last Summer.” Frish was joined by Bonds for a fun-filled duet of “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.” Bonds then performed “Always” and “Guess Who” backed by his wife and two very beautiful daughters. Frish began “What a Diff’rence a Day Made” (“Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado”) with its original Spanish lyrics, before finishing the song in English. “Moscow Nights,” sung in Russian, had many in the audience singing along. Hearing “Hello, Dolly!” in Yiddish had me laughing out loud. The closing number began with “Que reste-t-il de nos amours?” (Léo Chauliac/Charles Trenet) in French before ending with the English version (lyrics: Albert A. Beach), “I Wish You Love.”

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