Wow, wow, wow, fellas. Look at this old boy George, fellas.

Do you ever get up in the morning and feel ancient? Do you get the blahs? Forget about Lucy's Vitametavegamin and watch George S. Irving on stage. Revitalization is guaranteed. Broadway veteran and Tony Award winner (Irene), Irving, at age 86, announced this was his cabaret debut and he was starting at the top, Feinstein's at Loews Regency.

A familiar face from theater and well recognized from television, Irving is custom-fit for cabaret. He has a sturdy stance, sings with gusto and is affable and unaffected. He relates to the audience, holding court with a trunkful of theater stories. Between tales he tucked a tune or two, including the almost-showstopper, "I'm A-Tingle, I'm A-Glow," the song he sang playing Josephus Gage in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Irving was in that show when Carol Channing scored stardom as Lorelei Lee. He gave a feel of life on the road with Kalmar and Ruby's "Maryland." He excoriated and then lauded critics for their reviews with the amusing "What Kind of Man" from Curtains. In 1972, he received a death threat for playing Richard M. Nixon in An Evening With Richard Nixon and... the show closed but he survived the threat and received a Drama Desk Award.

Irving learned early in Boston that acting demands one big must, so Irving opened cleanly and precisely singing Stan Daniels' "Say the Words." He later returned to Daniels' songbook to close his show with the "The Butler's Song," a tricky, raunchy song that almost stopped the recent York Theatre production of Enter Laughing: The Musical.

"If I seem to dwell on the past, it's because I've seen so much of it," he quipped. The dwelling was lovely — "Once Upon a Time" (Strouse/Adams) and Loewe and Lerner's "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore." Paired was "Nuits De Saint-Germain-Des-Prés" (Lagrene) was followed by Faron Young's twangy "Here I Am In Dallas" ("Where in hell are you?"). "One More Walk Around the Garden" (Lane and Lerner) tenderly ended his program before the encore.

Actress Dina Merrill joined Irving for a few reminiscences about their days touring with On Your Toes, and they delivered Lerner and Loewe's, "I Remember It Well." While Merrill added a touch of glamour, Irving needed no assistance delivering this straightforward and focused show on his own.

Still glowin', still crowin', still goin' strong, George S. Irving joins a cherished group of octogenarians actively entertaining and inspiring us.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
November 3, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org