By Bart Greenberg*** Entertainer Rob Driemeyer opened his unique show at The Green Room 42 with a musical invitation: “We’ll Take a Drink Together” (George Forrest, Robert Wright), an absolutely appropriate opener for this mix of Broadway tunes and alcoholic libations. A product of Broadway Barfly, the name of his highly-successful YouTube video series, and produced by Boundless Theater, the afternoon was a charming – if flawed – adventure with a lovely mix of choices o
f material, and, for those who chose to imbibe, a mix of cocktails as well. And a lot of juicy theatrical gossip.
Driemeyer has a pleasing character voice and he mostly knows how to use it to great effect, with just a hint of a rasp, reminiscent of the late Jay Rogers. Crooning his way through such classic gems, both well-known and rare, as “Manhattan” (Richard Rodgers) and “Say It with Gin” (Cole Porter), he displayed an ease and welcome wit. His songs weaved together with his storytelling, in the former case the history of the eponymous drink that somehow touched on 19th Century New York politics and Winston Churchill’s mother (yes, it does tie all together), and in the latter case the iconic Floroadora Girls. In all of this he was aided by the almost non-stop support of his musical director Brad Vieth.
Not only did the two share a great musical symbiosis, but they also evidently got joy out of a barrage of crazy sound effects (whistles, duck calls, graters and rim shots) as well as a run of both amusingly bad dad jokes and much campier racy humor. The latter may have worked better in a late evening setting than a Sunday brunch time; the entire program seemed to cry out for a more dive bar atmosphere. And then there was the dramatic highlight of the presentation, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s “The Bilbao Song,” the ultimate trashy tavern number; Driemeyer lost all affectation and delivered a beautifully-judged and honest interpretation. Other highlights included a tender “Just a Little Joint with a Jukebox” (Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane) and a yearning encore with the lovely and rarely-heard “I Wish You a Waltz” (Billy Goldenberg, Marilyn and Alan Bergman).
Driemeyer brought along a special musical guest, Christine Dwyer, a charming performer with impressive theatrical credits, including Waitress and Wicked. She offered one selection from each of those shows, “She Used to Be Mine” (Sara Bareilles) and “The Wizard and I” (Stephen Schwartz). She offered both with fine vocal and interpretive ability and would certainly shine in her own cabaret act. However, in this setting, the numbers felt irrelevant to the theme of the main show and a side note in a rather long program.
The afternoon included two original pieces by Vieth and Michael Conley, “Broadway Barfly” and “Raise a Glass to the Leading Ladies.” Both were bouncy, silly songs reminiscent of some of the lighter work of John Kander and Fred Ebb, with the latter as a sing-a-long with the audience and another guest star, Ashley Kristine Vega. The latter was aided by bright, colorful projections; in fact, the entire presentation was highlighted by a series of slides of relevant photos, such as sheet music, personalities and so on. Driemeyer is a charming personality and a fine interpreter of songs of the Golden Age, and he clearly spent time developing his tales. A bit more focus and editing would really make the show shine.
