Danny Visconti is a name dropper, and the name which falls from his lips more often than not is Hillary Clinton.  Supposedly, Visconti has something of an obsession with Mrs. Clinton, even campaigning for her during the last presidential primary.  Claiming to have met her by pure chance, he regaled the audience with an incredibly tall tale of his serendipitous encounter with the former First Lady.

Beginning with the unmistakable strains of “Ol’ Man River” (Kern & Hammerstein), Visconti presented a hilarious send-up of the majestic anthem which he renamed “Ol’ Girl Clinton,” populated with new lyrics: “That ol’ girl Clinton, her hair keeps growin’ so long.” Projected on a nearby screen was a huge photo of Clinton, who was adorned with a typically large hairdo.

Visconti is a good singer and has an obvious flair for delivering funny material. He re-wrote the words to every song in the program, with the exception of two: “I Hate You, Darling” (Porter) and “Making Our Dreams Come True” (Fox & Gimbel), the theme of the television sitcom Laverne and Shirley, the latter sung by Marla Mindelle. Her vigorous voice and accessible presence were perfect; Mindelle’s skills have been well-honed by her Broadway experience in South Pacific, The Drowsy Chaperone and Sister Act.

All the songs were accompanied by corresponding images of Clinton, which were more or less consistent with Visconti’s imaginative lyrics.  Thus there was “Ooo, watch it girl, flush that weed/It’s a random drug screen” to the music of “Dancing Queen” (Ulvaeus, Andersson & Anderson) aligned with a photoshopped picture of a laughing Clinton and an apparently inebriated Visconti seated at a bar.

Although some tunes were less effective than others, especially the Visconti Triplets segment, there were plenty of entertaining moments, such as the Cruise Ship Medley and “On My Own” (Boublil & Schönberg): “All the wine, the wine went down like water/All the joints we didn’t smoke together.”

Danny Visconti, whose credits include appearances in regional productions of Funny Girl, The Wizard of Oz and Grease, assembled a strong team of performers: Musical Director Adam Wachter (The Addams Family and Yank!), actress Meara Levezow and Marla Mindelle.  Praise must also be given to Jess Anderson for her exhaustive collection of Hillary Clinton’s most inopportune photographic images.

Jerry Osterberg
Cabaret Scenes
July 25, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org