By Michael Barbieri***In my many years in cabaret, I’ve seen quite a few Marlene Dietrich tribute shows, but Kim David Smith’s intoxicating Mostly Marlene, at Club Cumming was indeed, as the Germans might say, FANTASTISCH!
Kim David Smith is, as he jokingly put it, “an internationally fame-ish” cabaret singer who has been called the male Marlene Dietrich and the David Bowie of cabaret. Born in Australia and based in NYC, he has performed extensively throughout his native country as well as here in New York, appearing at Joe’s Pub, Town Hall and Pangea. He’s a Backstage Bistro Award winner, has been nominated for the Helpmann Award and the MAC Award and his albums, Nova, Supernova, The Tease and Kim David Smith Live at Joe’s Pub are all available on iTunes. He debuted Mostly Marlene at Club Cumming in March of 2020 and then, unfortunately…lockdown! Fortunately for us, he brought the show back, to a hugely enthusiastic response from everyone in attendance, and I found his performance to be absolutely sublime!
Wending his way through the crowd in Dietrich’s iconic top hat and tails look, he hopped up onto the bar and invited us to explore the “Black Market” (F. Hollaender). This was not a drag act, however; Smith never impersonated Dietrich, but rather channeled her and conveyed her essence, beautifully and effectively. Many of the well-known Dietrich mainstays were 
represented, including the ribald “Ich Bin die Fresche Lola” (Hollaender) and “Ich Bin ein Vamp” (M. Spoliansky, M. Schiffer), in which Smith not only demonstrated his masterful interaction with the audience, but his mastery of the German language and the seamless transition from German to English that some of the songs required.
A few of the most fascinating pieces involved interspersing classic Weimar-era songs with more current material. Paying tribute to his Australian heroine, we heard Kylie Minogue’s “In Your Eyes” (K. Minogue, R. Stannard, J. Gallagher, A. Howes), which, while modern, still fit perfectly into the Marlene mood. We also got his rendition of “Jonny, Wenn du Gebustag Hast?” (Hollaender) which was spliced with elements of Madonna’s “Erotica” (M. Ciccone, S. Pettibone, A. Shimkin). Here again, not only was the transition seamless, but both pieces managed to evoke the angst and decadence of the Weimar era. And in Smith’s interpretation of “The Man’s in the Navy” (F. Loesser, F. Hollaender), Musical Director Tracy Stark cleverly—and hilariously—snuck a snippet of the Village People’s “In the Navy” (J. Morali, H. Belolo, V. Willis) into her arrangement!
When presenting some of Marlene’s more serious numbers, Smith proved himself as adept an actor as he is a singer. His version of “Look Me Over Closely” (T. Gilkyson) began with great emotional strength, but then evolved into heartfelt melancholia. 
Relating Dietrich’s battle with cervical cancer, Smith’s rendition of “The Boys in the Back Room” (F. Loesser, F. Hollaender) was played as a survivor’s story. In a modified version of her famous “one-foot-on-the-chair” stance, he exhibited lovely vocal control as he first echoed Marlene’s strong, self assured delivery of the song, but then changed the mood, trailing off sadly and making a segue into a stirringly wistful “Lili Marlene” (N. Schultze).
After a lovely pairing of Kylie Minogue’s “I Should Be So Lucky” (Stock, Aiken, Waterman) with Dietrich’s “Illusions” (F. Hollaender), Smith opted to close out his show with one last Kylie Minogue song, “All the Lovers” (J. Eliot, J. Stilwell). Whereas his delivery of “Illusions” was lilting and optimistic in feel, his rendition of Kylie’s pop piece was celebratory, joyful and a fabulous way to end the evening!
As with all cabaret shows, there were the requisite encores, and Smith’s lovingly expressive performance of one of Dietrich’s signature songs, “Falling in Love Again” (F. Hollaender), was the perfect addition to an already stellar set! 
Mostly Marlene was wonderfully effective on many levels. Tracy Stark’s driving, yet sensitive, musical arrangements supported Smith’s gorgeous, equally sensitive vocals. With moody red lighting, enhanced by constant clouds of mist from a fogger, Club Cumming was the perfect intimate venue for this show. And while the fog was a bit disconcerting at first, I eventually came to feel as though I were in a smoky Berlin nightclub, seeing the show through a cigarette and alcohol haze! And finally, Smith’s own sly androgyny lent itself perfectly to the tribute to a woman who was herself bisexual and strong, yet glamorous.
Kim David Smith! As Marlene herself might have said, “Fabelhaft!”
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