As the audience responses keep coming in strong for Mischa Kischkum’s debut show OFF THE CHARTS (Songs You Don’t Know By Writers You Love), NiteLife Exchange wanted to learn more about the revue’s development and the process of researching the songs. Mischa shares some backstory with us through these Six Questions. .
OFF THE CHARTS (Songs You Don’t Know By Writers You Love) returns to Don’t Tell Mama on Thursday, December 20th at 7:00 pm, directed by Jason Ellis, conducted by Steven Ray Watkins, with musical direction and arrangements by Kischkum. Percussion is by Don Kelly, electric and acoustic bass is by Matt Scharfglass and vocals are by Sandra Lagerstrom, Dan Busa and Watkins.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) celebrates Mischa Kischkum (MK) with Six Questions
1. NiteLife Exchange: It seems that OFF THE CHARTS (Songs You Don’t Know By Writers You Love) is both the subtitle and the title. How did you come to the concept and why put it in parentheses?
Mischa Kischkum (MK): I wanted the title to begin with “Mischa Kischkum is OFF THE CHARTS” so that people wouldn’t think, seeing all of us in the picture, that it was a musical revue—even though it ended up becoming a musical review of sorts—and I wanted the concept for the show to be clear, so I added it to the end of the title. First, I put it after a hyphen, then later, in parentheses. Actually, the show for a couple years was called Lesser-Known Songs by Theatre Writers, then Crossover Songs by Popular Writers, but Broadway songs were on the charts growing up, so crossover songs were hard to find. Then I came up with Songs You Don’t Know By Writers You Love and it opened up my possibilities and it lets audiences understand what they’re getting.
I wanted to find lesser-known songs from the songwriters growing up who inspired me to become a songwriter.
2. NLE: So you knew you wanted lesser-known songs to surprise your audience and you wanted writers you knew from your youth. How did you find the song list?
MK: Years of listening to a lot of songs and wading through a lot of muck to uncover that hidden gem. Sometimes I found the sheet music on microfiche at the Lincoln Center Library of Performing Arts; sometimes I transcribed the music from recordings.
Here’s how my “Act I Medley” came to be—after I saw that Marvin Hamlisch had a pop hit with “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows;” I thought “what other weird stuff has he written?” So I found “California Nights,” his other big hit for Leslie Gore, and I fell in love with the groovy chord changes and I knew it would be a good choice for the show. Meanwhile, I was looking for unusual songs and thought of Bette Midler’s Clams on the Half Shell Revue. Sure enough, I saw she used parts of “Moon of Manakoora” with lyrics by Frank Loesser, one of my favorite writers. Turns out it’s been recorded but nobody uses the leading verse, and since I wanted to feature my boy Frank, I do the verse. Putting the two together in a medley seemed a no-brainer because they’re each sung in real time from one lover to another, on a beach, at night—and both represent early pop hits from theatre writers. Well, veteran performers (both were child prodigies), but still, early hits as writers. “Moon” was introduced by Dorothy Lamour in ‘37 and “Nights” by Leslie Gore in ‘67. That’s one where I found the sheet music on microfiche; it saved me having to lift it.
3. NLE: It sounds like many discoveries over several years. Did you start arranging and rehearsing right away, as soon as you settled on the song list?
It was a mix. Some songs, I arranged in my head as soon as settling on them, but didn’t write them out until years later. Some I sketched out and held for the first rehearsals, which we started three months out. For some, I was able to just write chords in the existing sheet music, for transposition to my key, and not write out everything until we were in rehearsals.
The song list changed, of course, and my mantra of “no ballads” kept nagging me. Of course, you need a ballad to break things up, so I’m okay with having the one ballad, but my insistence on it being all comedy songs and charm songs really pays off with the show’s effect on audiences.
4. NLE: Besides the song selection, you did the arrangements and the musical direction. Is that usual for you?
Well, I’ve musically directed a lot. Back in the eighties I stopped taking those jobs so I could act; I took a pay cut so I could get out of the pit and do what I loved. And I was very fortunate to have wonderful opportunities as an actor, for decades—you know, national and international tours, Comedy Central, NBC, the Cannes Film Festival. I was very fortunate—so now, this show is my chance to pick monologues I can sing!
I figured people wouldn’t come to an evening of me doing monologues, so I say to people now: “it’s actually an evening of character-driven comedy where all the characters happen to sing” and then their eyes glaze over… Sorry—to answer your question, yes, I’ve musically directed and I’ve written musicals and reviews and theme shows and for sketch comedy and annual holiday shows but never a solo cabaret, so I wanted to do it right—and here we are.
5. NLE: Here we are—with a show full of unusual songs. It’s the writers, then, who help people connect with the evening?
MK: Yes, with Elton John, Johnny Mercer, Carole King, Paul Williams, people know they’re not going to be disappointed. My brave director, Jason Ellis has driven much change in the show. We’re still working on character specifics and re-writes in the patter, based on audience response. Plus, in one hour, six musicians play nine instruments, playing jazz, rock, country, pop; there’s a bossa nova with really funny lyrics by Johnny Mercer that I guarantee you have not heard, so that helps audiences connect, ‘cuz they’re discovering things together.
There’s a song cut from “Hello, Dolly!” that’s never been on any original cast album and a Schoolhouse Rock medley of songs by Lynn Ahrens with a singalong section—did I mention the show’s being recorded, so you may end up on the “original cast album?”
6. NLE: It sounds like the audience is part of the show?
MK: Definitely! Not just for the singalong section, either. We record two tracks of audience response, so that will help a lot for the feel of the final mix; and the patter and responses will be included, too.
I wanted to record something where people could listen and feel like they were there, laughing with the audience. And the audience response has been amazing. At work, I was bragging that at the first show we got a standing ovation, and in the receiving line, people said they had cried during the show, they were so moved. Then at the second show, we got three standing ovations, and in the receiving line, someone cried talking about the show. So at the next show, I expect people will throw cash, and in the receiving line, I expect a marriage proposal. I’m on a trajectory.
Mischa Kischkum’s OFF THE CHARTS (Songs You Don’t Know By Writers You Love), has one more performance, Thursday December 20th at 7:00 pm at Don’t Tell Mama ($18 plus two drink minimum, cash only, $3 discount for MAC members and union members SAG, AFTRA, AEA, AGMA, AGVA, IATSE, 802, UFT, AFT). Click here for tickets.
Don’t Tell Mama is located at 343 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036 Phone: (212) 757-0788
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