It was S.R.O. at Don't Tell Mama on December 20 — that stands for both Standing Room Only and the Saloff/Ritzel Outrageousness, also spelled LOL. It was the reunion of two who've been longtime friends and musical partners, through shtick and through thin.  Reprising some of their sly and daffy routines from yore, newer bits, plus jazzy takes on Christmas songs and the score of Porgy and Bess, it was a pre-holiday feast for fans. The season to be jolly brought many laughs, beginning with their ludicrously languid version of "This Joint Is Jumpin'" with (temporarily) straight-faced pianist-singer Ricky at a pace a snail could beat wherein Spider simply falls aleep. Zzzzzzz. Contrastingly, energy could be wonderfully frantic later. Donning costumes to play nutty characters—like a turban-wearing lady of big ego and very questionable pitch—Spider gamely and glibly played things broadly, bringing broad grins from the crowd. Guest "Babe" Robinson also came on as a wacky woman looking more like a human Christmas tree. Just as silly in his own way, Ritzel did a dramatic reading — Dr. Seuss's Grinch!!  The audience also ate up his bit where the chipper, twinkling-eyed entertainer pluckily plunks out "You Can't Have Everything" and self-interrupts to burst into wonderfully corny jokes, like the one about cannibals eating a clown, asking "Does this taste funny to you?" It all tasted plenty funny. And, all kidding aside, Spider was in splendid voice for the serious ballad "You Go to My Head." Denise Andersen on lights and sound made it all look and sound like an old vaudeville show. And the friendship felt onstage and among returning fans and cabaret regulars in the audience was evident. Marvelous stuff! Maybe you CAN have everything.

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
December 20, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org