By Bart Greenberg***Larry Kaufman writes clever song parodies pairing well-known theater songs, with some popular tunes thrown in, on an array of mundane topics ranging from dieting to aging to theater—and more food topics. As the opening number of his revue at 54 Below announced “I Write What I Write” (Jerry Herman), making it all very personal. 
Directed by Rosie Corr, and with music director and arranger Joseph Ivan, Larry Kaufman; Sing Us a Song, Mr. Parody Man was a charming evening. And what made it even more charming was the quality of the singing by the four performers delivering the material: Jasmine Forsberg, late of Six; Ben Jones, celebrated jazz vocalist; Patrick Pevehouse, musical theater veteran and KT Thomas of Wicked.
The very high quality of the performers was evident in both their acting and their singing. Each was excellent at shifting their personalities to fit the characters in the little mini-dramas that Kaufman created. Occasionally, their talent worked against the material: Jones’ delivery of “Bring It Home” (Claude-Michel Schonberg), a tale of 
bringing home restaurant leftovers, was such a stunning delivery of the melody that the audience probably missed most of the lyrics.
And the evening was all about the lyrics. Kaufman clearly has a quirky way of looking at the world, a bit cynical, a bit romantic, and a bit realistic about human beings. Oh, and a lot of food. “What I Ate for Brunch” (Marvin Hamlisch) and “Shake Shack” (Bobby “Boris” Pickett) both teased an obsession with food. On another subject, there were a trio of songs that shared a topic cleverly grouped together: “On My Phone” (Schonberg again) beautifully sung by Forsberg, “Siri With the Facts” and “Memory” (Lloyd Webber). Thomas delivered anger on the last with great aplomb.
Then there were the seemingly obligatory notes on show biz that appear in these kinds of shows, with a very funny “Broadway Snubbed Tango” (John Kander) referencing such none-rewarded but successful shows as Chicago, West Side Story, Oliver and Wicked, with references to a lot of theater celebrities, some of whom were in the room. Finally, a very touching moment was delivered by Jones and Forsberg on the process of rapid aging with “Suddenly Senior” (Alan Menken).
Parody Man is the kind of cabaret evening that is a great deal of fun to sit through though it fades quickly afterwards. Such bon bons have their place as well, and a return engagement would not be an unhappy event. It’s likely that Kaufman has many more delights up his sleeves.
Photos by Bart Greenberg
