Don't Leave It Allto Your Children

If you are of a certain age, you might find some nostalgic appeal simply in seeing some of the performers in the Off-Broadway musical revue Don't Leave It All to Your Children. I got a certain sentimental satisfaction—a feeling like I was re-connecting with a long-lost acquaintance, or revisiting my childhood—when Steve Rossi stepped out on stage. Years ago, he was one-half of the team of Allen & Rossi, and they appeared more than forty times on The Ed Sullivan Show. It's been many years since I've seen him anywhere, and I found him an easy-to-take, ingratiating presence. When he spoke of his nostalgia for he Ed Sullivan Show, it certainly sounded sincere. I enjoyed his company.

Sharing the stage with him were the brasher Ronnie Schell, who had supporting roles on the sitcoms-of-long-ago That Girl and Gomer Pyle and still has good comic timing; Barbara Minkus, who was a regular for six years on TV's Love American Style and toured in Funny Girl; and Marcia Rodd, who had roles on Broadway in Last of the Red Hot Lovers and I'm Not Rappaport.

They gamely work their way through this revue aimed at senior citizens. Most of the material—songs and patter by Saul Ilson—is not very good; it feels tired. One character refers to peeing six times a night, another to having difficulty urinating at all. I can't see younger theater-goers finding this much fun; and older theater-goers seeking a bit of escape from life's troubles might prefer something more life-affirming. Most of the songs aren't memorable, either in terms of music or lyrics. The better ones ("March in Your Parade," "Don't Leave It All" / "Have a Good Time") are too few and far apart to save this often-tedious night. For me, the show worked best when it simply communicated timeless truths—like Rossie relating the joys of being a grandparent, and of ignoring his daughters directions as to what his grandchildren may not eat or do.

At one point, Rossi said he couldn't remember the next line of a song, adding: "It doesn't matter, I'm not getting paid, anyway." It also didn't matter because the song—noting there are three female senior citizens for every male—had so little to recommend it that no one was likely to miss a line. If he'd have asked the audience at that point, "What would you rather hear—the rest of this song, or my hit song of years ago, 'More?'" I can guarantee people would have rather heard him sing "More." Alas, we weren't given the option.

Pictured: Steve Rossi, Marcia Rodd, Ronnie Schell, Barbara Minkus. Photo by Albert Hirshon.

Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
May 30, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org