Well, dear readers, December is flying by, like a gazelle throwing a frisbee while singing Yankee Doodle Dandy. In breaking bombshell news, we had us a most wonderful Kritzerland 122 last night. It was fun, touching, and bittersweet, knowing the room as we’ve known it is going away at the end of the year. The room was jam-packed and full-up, which is always fun. As I’ve said, I can usually judge how it’s going to go from the first few lines of the patter, and I knew it was going to be a very special show and that’s exactly what it was. Eric Petersen and daughter Sophie, twelve years of age, opened the show with our perennial opening number, Be a Santa from Subways are for Sleeping. They were fantastic. Then came Danika Masi doing my song from A Carol Christmas, This Christmas. She got all the laughs and sang it wonderfully. After that, Adrienne Stiefel wrapped her gorgeous voice around What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve. Then came Robert Yacko doing Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season and he was a holiday season unto himself. Then it was Ilene Graff and her wonderful hubby Ben Lanzarone doing Hard Candy Christmas – just beautiful.
And then came Sharon McNight, who brought the house down with One Woman’s Story. Then Danika was back with A Place Called Home – a beautiful performance of a terrific Alan Menken/Lynn Ahrens song. After that, followed perhaps the most moving moment of the evening, Robert Yacko’s superb performance of The Whimsy Works from L.A. Now and Then. When I was first contemplating doing a revue about L.A., I wrote quite a few songs for it. But I enlisted the aid of several other songwriters I like – including the first person I went to, my wonderful friend and a man I dearly love, Richard Sherman. I asked him to write a song about his time with Walt Disney. Two weeks later, he called me and played me The Whimsy Works, a wonderful tribute to Mr. Disney and the creative freedom he gave to so many, while giving the world so many childhood memories. Robert introduced the song in L.A. Now and Then’s original production. Richard didn’t know we were going to do it and I must tell you he was in tears from start to finish. It was a wonderful moment.
Then came little Sophie Petersen, who stopped the show cold with My Simple Christmas Wish. That girl has incredible natural comic timing, well, rather like her father. Then her father did the Harry Connick, Jr. song, It Must’ve Been Ol’ Santa Claus. Robert Yacko and Adrienne Stiefel were cozy and fun doing Lovers on Christmas Eve. Danika did a great job with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, then Ilene and Ben were back with a Promises, Promises medley of Turkey Lurkey Time and Christmas Day – Ilene was the first replacement for the pit singers, her first Broadway show. Really fun. Then Robert was back with The Christmas Song, which he was very velvety on, and then Sharon was back with another hilarious number, Santa Lost a Ho. As I said after she finished, she’s one-of-a-kind. Adrienne then did a Shoshana Bean original called We Still Have Christmas and it was wonderful – I had no idea Shoshana Bean wrote songs, let alone really good songs. Finally, it was Eric with White Christmas, which is always our closer.
At that point, I usually bring the cast back out for a final bow and we do our sing-along. But instead, I told the audience that I wanted to do a song as our farewell to Vitello’s and I brought up Kay Cole, who sang What I Did for Love. It was magical and then I brought everyone out and we and the audience all sang White Christmas. It was such a great way to start the holiday season. We’ll miss Vitello’s. We’ll be back in January, coming full circle and going back to where we began our shows in 2010 – The Gardenia, doing Sundays at seven with the first show of 2023 being our all young folks show on January 15. Here are some photographs. Here I am, showing the paper I must read from.
Here’s Robert Yacko.
Eric Petersen and daughter Sophie.
Danika Masi.
Musical director Billy Malpede.
Ilene Graff.
Kay Cole.
Sharon McNight.
Adrienne Stiefel.
The entire company.
Prior to that, I got nine hours of sleep, relaxed and rested my voice and that was pretty much my day, save for two irritating e-mails, which I must deal with today. Then we had our sound check, I had my usual small Caesar before the show and then we did the show. After, I gabbed with a lot of folks and got lovely comments. Oh, and after one of Sharon’s numbers, she surprised me by not leaving the stage – she brought everyone out and they all sang Happy Birthday – very sweet. I had many laugh lines about turning seventy-five.
After the show, Robert and I had a bite to eat and Doug Haverty sat with us. I had the Caesar with chicken, which was good, and some garlic bread. And that was that.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I have to stop at the bank to make a deposit in the ATM, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat something fun, and then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye comes, otherwise, I really need to rest on the weekend. Then next week is the birthday week and we’ll see what that brings – I can tell you, a big ol’ miracle would make my life a whole lot easier right about now.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, stop at the bank, hopefully pick up packages, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, who knows? DVD, I’ll choose some screener and try to get through it. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that we had a wonderful farewell to Vitello’s Kritzerland 122.