By Bart Greenberg***Some cabaret shows are marvelous. Some are dreary. Some thrill us and some bore us. And some are just weird. Mommy Issues, featuring Audrey and Daniel Landers, was weird. Billed as “a mother-son cabaret – because cabaret is cheaper than therapy,” the show veered from a highly-scripted program to an over
-the-top Vegas drag show with costume changes galore, to a family semi-history. While the Landers matriarch dominates the tales often, her sister Judy, who’s had her own prominent career as an actress and director, is never mentioned, nor is Audrey’s husband, business mogul Donald Berkowitz, Daniel’s father. One could only surrender to the chaos and go along for the ride. And a fun ride it was.
Audrey Landers was all over television in the ’70s and the ’80s, beginning on daytime soap operas, then into prime time guest appearances (including several times on “Love Boat”) before an eight-year stint on Dallas, and then on to being one of the few bright spots in the film of A Chorus Line. Son Daniel has built up a major following on social media as a personality, a songwriter and an activist, as w
ell as a European television performer. Thus, they each brought a lot of history to the stage to draw upon.
The evening started off with Audrey coming up on stage, unaware that the audience is in place, before Daniel arrives to point that out. This tomfoolery might have made sense if the meta style was ever carried through, but it immediately vanished never to be used again. The mother/son relationship is soon established as far less maternal and far more sexy heterosexual woman and her sassy gay BFF—carried a bit too far when Daniel came out at one point in a drag outfit to resemble his mother. Whether that is campy fun or bordering on disturbing is up to your point of view.
None of these high jinks denies that both participants are very talented. Audrey demonstrated her excellent way with a standard from the Golden Age; she dedicated a fine version of “My Man” (Maurice Yvain, Albert Willemetz, Jacques Charles, Channing Pollock) to her “Dallas” counterpart, “Cliff Barnes.” Later, she torched out “Stormy Weather” (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler), proving her deep understanding of the genre. And she recreated her monologue leading into her sassy rendition of “Dance 10, Looks 3” from A Chorus Line to great effect.
Daniel is a rock performer and songwriter. He offered two original works, “One Last Lie” and “Sooner or Later,” with great energy. The couple’s joint efforts, including “You Give Love a Bad Name” (Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child) and “Someone to Watch Over Me” (George & Ira Gershwin), were less effective as their two styles and voices simply didn’t blend very well. Skilled music director Steven Silverstein accompanied both singers with élan. However, the entire show would have benefited from a director helping to better define what was sought. Audrey announced at one point, with a grin, “I wear a lot of hats, but not a lot of clothes.” Perhaps it was time to share the director chapeau with another person.
Photos by Bart Greenberg
