Kevin Carl Beaty: On My Way to Me
Kevin Carl Beaty
On My Way to Me
Tom Rolla’s Gardenia, West Hollywood, CA, September 22, 2016
Reviewed by Mary Bogue for Cabaret Scenes
If you read nothing else, read this: Kevin Carl Beaty made his SRO cabaret debut, and it was the best show I have ever seen at the Gardenia! He was seriously funny and exquisitely lyrical in his song styling.
Imagine a party where Uncle Milty, Red Skelton, Jonathan Winters and Carol Burnett show up for non-stop comedic barbs and, in between laughing until your sides hurt, Robert Goulet, Louis Prima, Dean Martin and Judy Garland deliver beautifully crafted songs. This is Kevin Carl Beaty.
While disco lights bounced off the pink Gardenia walls, Beaty made a gigantic, splashy entrance in a vintage smoking jacket and sang “It’s Today” (Jerry Herman). Then he invited all into his “living room,” replete with palm trees, twinkling lights, vintage telephones, lamps, triangular ashtrays on tables with stage cigarettes, and ads for Dippity-do and L’eggs Pantyhose.
And just when the crowd was able to recover from laughing, Beaty delivered “A Lot of Living’ to Do” (Charles Strouse/Lee Adams) in a warm and beautiful voice, and then wiped his forehead with over-sized $100 dollar bills. The crowd was blown away by his perfect “Something’s Coming” (Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim) and so much more. Turning on a dime, he had everyone in stitches as he acted out a scene from Valley of the Dolls and brought Judy Garland to life, complete with a feather-and-pill-bottle boa.
This is a must-see show brilliantly directed by Richard Kilroy. Beaty is a living, breathing TV show that you yearn to see again and again. He signed off with a gorgeous “Two for the Road” (Henry Mancini/Leslie Bricusse) and left us wanting to tune in again. Kevin Carl Beaty is a hit show waiting to explode upon the big screen!
Category: Cabaret Reviews, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Cabaret Reviews, Regional
