Kelli Rabke Proved Herself a Mighty “Tiny Giant” of Song at The Green Room 42

By Marilyn Lester***Broadway star Kelli Rabke, a singer-actress of petite stature, got to thinking; it occurred to her that an abundance of legendary singing stars, particularly those who’ve even become iconic, have been (or are) under 5’2″ in height. Thus was born her eye-opening and quite delightful show, directed by Mark Waldrop, at The Green Room 42, Tiny Giants—Petite Powerhouses from Garland to Gaga! Ironically, introducing Rabke and the show with her own vocal, was backup singer Stevi Incremona, a tall girl who offered up a memory of Judy Garland with a rousing “Get Happy” (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler). The sentiment in the lyric, “forget your troubles, come on get happy” was good advice for navigating a pandemic—Rabke’s original date for Tiny Giants was October 4, 2020, during the time when the world went dark.

Good things in small packages (as the saying goes)? Rabke certainly is. She possesses an incontrovertible power voice, and the chops to use it well. Possessing a strong and authoritative vocal instrument can be a challenge; its force and energy can’t be denied. But Rabke is well-trained. As she moved through the list of small ladies who sing big—Petula Clark, Bernadette Peters, Pat Benatar, Elaine Paige and more—covering eight decades of popular music, she represented each with complete artistic respect. Rabke also packed a lot of information into a small space of time, smartly describing the provenance of each number. And with a wink to her home state, Rabke included hits by two fellow Jersey girls, Brenda Lee and Lesley Gore, with “Break It to Me Gently” (Diane Lampert, Joe Seneca) and “You Don’t Own Me” (John Madara, David White), respectively.

Music director-pianist, John Fischer (who also happens to be Rabke’s husband) offered charming duets with the singer on several numbers, including an updated, sweet “On a Slow Boat to China” (Frank Loesser). The two also paired nicely on the ballad “Shallow” (Stefani Germanotta, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, Mark Ronson). Fischer also sang a comic duet with Incremona—Randy Newman’s highly ironic-satiric “Short People,” while Rabke affected a slight costume adjustment.

When Rabke re-emerged on stage it was in Dolly Parton accoutrements for a very Partonesque “9 to 5,” written by the diva for her 1980 film of the same name. Rabke switched it up with Parton’s rewritten song, “5 to 9” for a Squarespace commercial, which had its broadcast premiere during the 2021 Super Bowl. The always reliable guitar virtuoso, Sean Harkness, who supplied excellent backup to the set, played a superb ballad duet with Rabke on Gloria Estefan’s “Words Get in the Way.” He also offered impressive artistry to Stevie Nick’s haunting ballad, “Rhiannon.”

Since live performance came back to New York City in June of this year, it’s become de rigueur for performers to acknowledge their gratitude for being on stage after a long haul of lockdown. With this circumstance in mind, Rabke offered, in French, Édith Piaf’s post-World War II signature song “La Vie en Rose” (Piaf, Louiguy) as a prayer—for hope, health and normalcy. In fact, it was this song, Rabke revealed, that inspired Tiny Giants. Rabke’s heart was plainly in her performance and her enthusiasm contagious. This mighty tiny giant herself scored a great big giant winner of a show.