Bill McKinley, who did an acclaimed Disney show some time ago, went in a different direction in his latest show with musical director Christopher Marlowe at the Metropolitan Room in New York. Entitled Does A Bear Sing In the Woods, the show focused on the gay bear culture. For example, his opening number "The Teddy Bears' Picnic," was ollowed by special lyrics to "Cabaret" (i.e., "Come to the Cab-BEAR-et"), and "The Laziest Gal (Bear) In Town." Bearded and dressed initially in a red plaid shirt decorated with glitter, McKinley detailed the gay bear culture, explaining the difference between "bears," "cubs," and "otters." He told his personal story of growing up loving everything Disney and his first trip to Disneyworld where he was too small to go on some of the rides alone and a generous couple volunteered to accompany him. He then introduced the couple in the audience all the way from Florida.

McKinley tore into a bunch of animal songs including "Smokey The Bear," "Yogi Bear Song," "Winnie the Pooh," "The Bare Necessities," "Fuzzy Wuzzy" and, with special "bear" lyrics, "Anything Goes" and Fanny Brice’s song "Cookin’ Breakfast" ("for the bear I love"). Later ,he sang a novelty number by Jonathan Sheffer and David Zippel entitled "Horsin’ Around" and, from The Wizard of Oz, "King of the Forest."

McKinley may have miscalculated his effect on straight men and women in the audience when he repeated, in hoary detail, an old joke about a hunter and a bear in the forest. He redeemed himself by singing two tender love ballads, "What a Funny Boy He Is" by Alex Rybeck, who was in the audience, and from Promises Promises, "I’ll Never Fall In Love Again."

In the midst of all the bear novelty songs there was some very effective singing by his gloriously legit voice, especially "My White Knight," a ballad by David Friedman, and McKinley’s closing number, "Everything’s Possible." He told a story of a gay teenager in the Midwest who was considering suicide until he heard "Everything’s Possible" by Fred Small on McKinley’s first CD. The boy wrote a letter to McKinley saying how the song had saved his life. Years later, the boy was in Chicago and saw that McKinley was appearing and they connected. Then McKinley sang the song, which has a lyric that details that you can be anything you want to be in life, love anyone you love no matter what the sex orientation:

"Some men love men
some women love women...
you can be anyone you want to be...
Everything's possible"
because when you die
"the only measure of the life you leave
will be the love you leave behind
when you go."

Joe Regan, Jr.
Cabaret Scenes
July 16, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org