Graae's Anatomy

May 21st, 2007
El Portal Theatre, NoHo
Cabaret/One-Man Show

Jason Graae (pronounced "graw") is a one-man-bonanza of charm and entertainment, spilling over with talent, sincerity and humor to spare. He's quirky but poised, funny and yet able to move his listeners. He invites his audience into his world with expressive, tuneful, beautiful and hilarious songs and a silvery voice that fills the theatre.

When he sings those first few notes, you think you're hearing a traditional Irish tenor voice, but you soon discover that he's much more versatile than that. I could listen to this man sing anything and he'd hold my attention. His voice is natural, lyrical, sweet and never forced, yet has real power and belt which he reserves for those special moments in each song. He's a true showman and a sincere and engaging artist.

I'm gushing. But when I attend an eveing where song and singer are so perfectly matched, it's worth gushing.

The evening opened with a hilarious version of "Not Getting Married Today" (from Company) which I'm guessing Bruce Vilanch turned into "I'm Not Doing My Cabaret." In fact, Bruce intro'd the show and he and strong soprano Susanne Blakeslee went on to help Jason with this number.

None of the songs were written down, so I know I'm going to miss a couple. But I remember, in no particular order, his tribute to West Side Story (where he played Chino), a lovely version of "Lusty Month of May" from Camelot (thanks Teri!) where he sang beautifully and played his oboe off key on purpose to gales of laughter, his very sweet song "Mama, A Rainbow" from "Minnie's Boys" sung to his mom (in the audience), Johnny Mercer's "Tangerine/Laura," a story about his forays into the dating scene with a very sweet and wistful John Bucchino song called "Playbill," the gorgeous "What More Can I Say?" (Falsettos), his stories of being the voice of Lucky the Leprechaun (Lucky Charms breakfast cereal) expressed with the song "How Lucky Can You Get," a song from Jerry Herman's The Grand Tour called "Mrs. S. L. Jacobowsky" (we saw him in The Colony's production; he made the show), and a stirring and funny version of "Applause" (from Applause, Applause) where at one point he did a manic run of impressions of a host of singers including Al Jolson, Johnny Matthis, and the one that brought me to tears of laughter, Mandy Patinkin clucking like a chicken. His encore... "Blow Me... a Kiss from Across the Room" (a song filled with tongue-in-cheek lyrics).

I was also touched by his candor and his sense of humor in being gay, which turned into a surprise reunion with two of his fellow Forever Plaid alums, David Engel & Stan Chandler, who then helped him sing a request to Hillary Clinton to make gay marriage legal in "Let Him Marry Me, Hill'" (Will You Marry Me Bill)!

If Jason Graae ("graw") ever comes your way, go see him. You won't be disappointed. He has the voice of an angel... a spritely, charming, mega-talented angel.

Why only 4.5 stars? I'm greedy. I wanted 2 more songs. ;)