By Marilyn Lester***Had there not been a pandemic, young Charles Kirsch might have gone to theater camp, as so many stage-struck kids have done over the decades. But as the Covid plague descended and changed the world, young Kirsch, denied that opportunity, precociously 
began a podcast in August 2020, called “Backstage Babble.” Possessed by the lore, legend and history of Broadway, he’d become a mini-maven and decided to interview his idols of the stage.
Three years on, Kirsch, now 15, has accumulated an impressive list of performers who’ve appeared on the podcast, plus wunderkind status. More recently he’s been gifted a coveted early-show slot on the 54 Below stage. His recent, third, “Backstage Babble” cabaret, themed Celebrates the Tony Awards History, starred a dozen performers with a connection to the Antoinette Perry award.
One of those scheduled to appear, Anita Gillette, became suddenly indisposed and thus it was Lori Tan Chinn who stepped up to the plate to fill the bill. Chinn offered a compelling “Bali Ha’i” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) from 1949’s South Pacific, winner of 10 
Tony Awards. Although Chinn has appeared on Broadway, her connection with Bloody Mary is in the 2001 TV movie of South Pacific. John-Andrew Morrison was Tony-nominated for his role in the 2022 winner for Best Musical, A Strange Loop; but aside from a hilarious story about Tony night, he chose to sing the Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parrish gem, “Stardust” (music 1927, lyric 1929), which made its only Broadway appearance in the short-lived 1987 Stardust: The Mitchell Parrish Musical.
A double-star connection to the Tonys came with Willy Falk and Daisy Eagan, the youngest actress ever to win a Tony Award (11 years and 7 months old) for her role in The Secret Garden. Eagan appeared via video and was both charming and witty. It was while Eagan and Falk were in Les Miserables that a backstage confab 
took place to take care of the young actress who appeared to have broken her arm. As she had to be extracted from her costume to be cared for, it was Falk who noticed and said: “Look! She can move her arm!” The possibly disastrous, and certainly frightening injury, turned out to be a mild hairline fracture. Falk, who originated “Chris” in Miss Saigon, garnered a Tony nomination in 1991. Wearing the original costume shirt from the production, he sang a particularly inspired, “Why God Why?” (Claude-Michel Schönberg; Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby, Jr.), proving hands down why he earned his nomination.
Of course, there was much more during the evening of remembrance and song: Virginia Seidel spoke of Very Good Eddie and Damon Evans about being a Tony presenter; Elena Bennett (repping Seidel), Austin Pendleton, Jane Summerhays, Martin Vidnovic and Lee Roy Reams all sang. The closer came with Penny Fuller. Her number, “One Hallowe’en” (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams), from 1970’s Best Musical winner Applause, brought down the house. Fuller, Tony nominated for her role in that show, put meaning into the lyric “I’m alive, I’m alive, so alive!” For an actress of a certain age singing out to friends and colleagues in the audience of a certain age, a lot of amusing resonance ensued. On another Applause note: the opening number of the show is “Backstage Babble.”
Music director, pianist and anchor was the superbly talented, Alex Rybeck. His classical underpinnings to pop and Broadway material produced a lush, orchestral sound. Plus, he knows how to work with and support singers.
Finally, here are notes for young Charles and the adults around him: no matter how precocious, a 15-year old doesn’t have the experience to produce and host a show of this caliber—especially in New York’s premier supper club where patrons are spending significant cash for an upmarket New York experience. There were serious glitches throughout the show, particularly an intensely embarrassing incident that Kirsch was too inexperienced to handle. Running late, Falk and Fuller, who had interesting backstage tales, never got too deliver them. Kirsch needs guidance and mentoring about stage presence, constructing a show, keeping it moving and interacting with guest performers, among other elements of producing. Certainly, to proceed he should have a co-producer and a co-host. The charm of a 15-year old without professional grounding will soon wear very thin; enabling him will do Charles no favors for his future.
Photos by Maryann Lopinto
