There is no better relief from the current recession/depression blues than a lively, super-energetic, spirited performance from West Coast-based actor/musical comedy/singer Shawn Ryan. The fun began with an original song by Ryan, Shelley Goldstein, and Kelly Park, Ryan’s musical director/collaborator. "Plus One" is a laugh-filled song about the reluctance, indicated by pauses and stutters, to admit to being one decade older ("29 plus one," "39 plus one," "49 plus one") which called to mind the hysterically funny Academy Award nominated performance of Geraldine Page in Pete and Tillie. Working to familiar faces in the audience, Ryan proceeded to dedicate individual songs to them. Some were his usual repertoire ("My Simple Christmas Wish," "Beat My Dog") done with updated, even wilder, new arrangements, but there were several new songs. One was "Here You Come Again"—because he loves Dolly Parton and her musical 9 To 5—and he sang it not as a slow torch song but as a bouncing rhythm number. His "ballad" for the night, which he introduced as being in the Cole Porter style, was the dynamic "I Kissed a Girl"—but the only part sung softly was the verse. "Bad Things" (Jace Everett) lists a lot of bad love/sex things he wants to do with his new conquest, and "Republicans" is a very funny 1970s song by William Finn about encounters, social and romantic, with committed card-carrying members of that political party.

Another Ryan-Park original is "The Magic Wand" dedicated to Daniel ("Harry Potter", Equus) Radcliffe, with lots of clever, unexpected (instead of the anticipated and obvious) rhymes and twists about Radcliffe’s recent stage success in London and New York. There were wild, frantic jokes in the style of Dean Martin and Frances Faye about traveling with his band (one of them about the drummer borrowed from Marilyn Maye); an appearance at an Alan Jay Lerner tribute (taking "Wouldn’t It Be Loverly" to new heights, including jokes about some of the lyrics: "someone’s head resting on my knee" and the word "Cockney"); and funny stories about his appearance on America’s Got Talent and how Regis Philbin demanded his CD plug stay in the televised tape.

Ryan’s special guest was a friend from school who has just re-located to New York. Christopher Plank, coifed and dressed in very attractive "mod" Goth fashion, sang Jason Robert Brown’s humorous "Shiksa Goddess" (from The Last 5 Years), which has the refrain "I’m breaking my mother’s heart," in a strong, high tenor voice with a very forceful "today" beat. I predict we’ll be hearing more from Plank.

Few performers in cabaret today who know how to involve individual and collective members in the audience in the act and Shawn Ryan is a master at it. He closed with Shel Silverstein’s "I’m Checking Out," one of his signature songs. Everyone checked out of the show with happy, optimistic moods, the perfect remedy for these troubled times.

Joe Regan, Jr.
Cabaret Scenes
March 20, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org