By Michael Barbieri****Okay! I’ll admit it! I have been BariToned!!! Yes, BariToned is a fabulous, farcical trio of large and in charge baritones whose deliciously campy show, Damsel in Distress, celebrated the strong women of musical theater. By the end of the evening, the audience at The Birdland Theater was cheering and shouting for more!
BariToned are Edward Miskie, Joe Hager and Kyle Hines. Miskie, the creator, founder, producer and head of the trio, has appeared in productions of Into the Woods, 42nd Street, Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate and many more. Hager has spent time on the road with the National Tour of Beauty and the Beast, in the International Tour of Phantom of the Opera and in Rock of Ages with Norwegian Cruise Lines. Hines’ favorite roles include Adam/Lazarus in the Drama Desk Award Winning play, The Mysteries at the Flea Theatre, Captain Grizzle Beard in The Pirate La Dee Da, and most recently, Jesus in the Infinity Theatre Company’s production of Godspell.
Damsel in Distress was not so much a cabaret show as a concert. There were no regular patter breaks between songs to explain their choices or tie them together into a story. It was simply a program of fantastic music, performed impeccably by three talented singers. Similar to the Broadway Backwards series, these were all songs written for female characters and sung originally by women. And while the performances did get quite camp at times, this was not about the singers’ sexualities, but simply a tribute to strong women, sung by men—manly, mannish, masculine, manful sort of men! Now, granted, this description of them is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but that’s sort of the point—most of their songs were performed with a sly wink at the audience, figuratively speaking.
They opened the show with “I Hate Men,” from Kiss Me Kate. Light, cute and funny, the number immediately showed off their impressive legit voices, along with some great harmonies. That number segued into the WERK Medley—a mashup of Oklahoma’s “I Cain’t Say No,” sung by Miskie, “A Trip to the Library,” from She Loves Me, sung by Hines, and Company’s “You Could Drive a Person Crazy, from all three. This opening set the tone for the evening, with all three men playing off each other perfectly. They also amped up the camp factor by occasionally throwing an arm in the air, in unison, snapping their fingers and exclaiming “WERK!” The “Wash That Black White Knight” medley combined South Pacific’s “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out-a My Hair,” The Music Man’s “My White Knight” and (when one of them asked “Why do they have to be white?”) “Black Boys” from Hair, which got a huge rise out of the audience!
Their mix of “Everybody’s Girl,” “Gorgeous” and “Shy” from Steel Pier, The Apple Tree and Once Upon a Mattress, respectively, was great fun to start. Unfortunately, it suffered a bit towards the end when the medley became a kind of fugue, with everyone singing their respective songs at once. The sound became a little muddied and I lost the differing melody lines.
At times, one of the men would leave the stage and the remaining two would take over with a number of their own. Miskie and Hines gave us a combo of Sweet Charity’s “Baby, Dream Your Dream” and “Nowadays” from Chicago. And though they flirted and cuddled while singing about the life they could have together, those bits of business were simply a part of the act—they were playing the song’s characters, not themselves. Yes, it read a bit gay, but it was never pushy. It was just sweet, funny and natural.
As if the trio hadn’t provided plenty of entertainment on their own, they had invited along four phenomenal guest singers. Peter Sadie was smooth, charming and rakish as he sang “Lost and Found” from City of Angels. Michael Hunsaker thrilled with his stunning belt and glorious high notes as he gave us “Meadowlark” from The Baker’s Wife. Alan H. Green moved us with his sensitive vocal in “Too Beautiful For Words/The Color Purple” from The Color Purple and Aaron Ramie gave us a soaring, dramatic rendition of “A New Life” from Jekyll & Hyde.
But now, back to the boys of BariToned! One of the highlights of the show for me, was the medley of “There’s a Fine, Fine Line” (Avenue Q), “Fifty Percent” (Ballroom) and “Unusual Way” (Nine). This particular piece was not played for laughs at all; it was gentle and lovely, with gorgeous three-part harmonies on “Unusual Way.” The number also showcased the trio’s superb acting abilities, which made it extremely moving.
It would be unfair of me not to mention the terrific—and occasionally very funny choreography by Brooke Martino; the excellent band of David John Madore on piano, Will Hack on bass and Curt Garey on drums; and the brilliant musical arrangements by Dan Pardo. Their outstanding work gave the show a wonderful flow, which made it truly remarkable!
The boys wrapped up the evening with a couple more medleys, including one that seemed a combination of Damsel in Distress and a second show they’ve devised, called Hot Stuff—a tribute to the disco divas of the 1970s! They absolutely brought the house down with their renditions of “One Night Only” from Dreamgirls, Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” and Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” Their vocals and harmonies were fabulous as they twirled, shook their butts and gave us the famous John Travolta “finger point!” The crowd ate it up and gave the boys a well-deserved standing ovation!
Damsel in Distress was a ton of fun and had me cheering and laughing out loud with the rest of the nearly sold out room. If you happen to see these boys playing near you, RUN to see them and get yourself BariToned!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the show!! I’m hoping to be more fully BariToned in the future bc these guys are terrific. However, my last name is Ramey. 😜