Producer/performer Mandy Kaplan staged the 36th edition of Miscast Right Singer, Wrong Song Upstairs at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood on May 7. It was a sold-out event as most of them are with all proceeds going to Project Angel Food. The concept is simple—singers/performers get to challenge themselves, stretch their talents by singing a song they would never get cast to sing in the real world. Males singing songs written for females, older for younger and vice versa for all. It’s always a fun evening with some surprising song choices and performances.
The show always begins with a group number, this time it was “Magic To Do” from Pippin with the cast trying to recreate while not quite recreating the classic Fosse choreography but instead dancing through Kaplan’s take of it. Mayhem ensued along with laughter. Anthony Lucca provided great accompaniment on keyboards throughout the show.
There were several first-timers in the cast including Omari Miller who found his inner ingenue with She Loves Me’s “A Trip to the Library”. Julie Wittner found her inner male rock star belting out one of the heavy metal numbers from Rock of Ages. Young Oona Albala took on the beleagured mother’s lament “A Mother Doesn’t Matter Anymore” from the TV version of Bye Bye Birdie.
Regular cast member Mandy Fabian found her inner gay male with the catchy “Dressing Them Up” from Kiss of the Spider Woman. Casey Klavens joined with Tom W. Metz III for “You’re Nothing Without Me” from City of Angels but their age difference didn’t really translate to the rivalry sung in the lyrics. Jon Butler did a lovely job with Pippin’s “Kind of Woman”. Maybe he should rethink his career in real estate.
Kaplan had fun as a crotchety stage veteran making her way through “The Song No One Likes”. Jonny Lee, Jr. Was a standout with “Dead Mom” from Beetlejuice while Nicole Santiago brought down the house with the raucous “Big Black Man” from The Full Monty. Watch for the next Miscast show in August.