Oy! Such a treat! Chicago legend (and “honorary Jew”) Jimmy Damon teamed up with honey-voiced wisecracker, Carla Gordon, for a spirited tribute to the heyday of the Catskills, in Borscht Belt Buddies. Debuting at plushly retro Maxim’s, our “Buddies” served up an evening of nostalgic fun, rousing the crowd into impromptu sing-alongs throughout the show. Opening with Gordon’s original parody of “Those Were the Days My Friend,” called “Once Upon a Time There Was the Borscht Belt” (lyrics included “Those were the days, my friend... we’d say ‘oy vey’s back then”), Damon and Gordon namedropped heavy hitters who started careers playing the Borscht Belt between the 1920s and 1970s, including Milton Berle, Danny Kaye and Joan Rivers. From there, the duo launched into a volley of vintage songs and ripe jokes, complemented by their contagious rapport. Whenever a joke elicited a groan from the audience, Master Kibbitzer Damon exclaimed, “That was a $300-dollar joke…we’re getting our money back!” Not to be out-“shtick”ed, Gordon liberally peppered her patter with Yiddish and ethnic allusions, addressing Damon as “Jimmeleh.” Both performers showcased powerfully nuanced voices in “Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long” and “My Man,” delivered with brass and pathos by Gordon; and “I Wanna Be Around,” a show-stopper for Damon. Hankies appeared when they sang about “mishpocha” (family) during Gordon’s “My Yiddishe Mama” and Damon’s “Oh My Papa.” When they teamed up on ditties like “April Showers,” “Side By Side” and “It Had to Be You,” the audience needed no prompting or karaoke lyrics to chime in. Bob Moreen provided superb piano accompaniment.
Pam Peterson
Cabaret Scenes
November 10, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org
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