Review: Meghan Kirk is perfectly out of her head at the Stage at KDHX September 1, 2017

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Meghan Kirk

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Assembling a cabaret show is a risky undertaking. More than one nationally renowned artist has discovered that the hard way, producing shows that had me glancing at my watch and wondering when I could order another drink.

At no time during Out of My Head, the latest undertaking from St. Louis' own Meghan Kirk, did I even think of glancing at my Fitbit. In fact, I have no idea how long the show actually was; I was too busy enjoying it. It was all I could do to remember to jot down a note now and then. If there is such a thing as a perfect, Platonic Ideal of a cabaret evening, it would surely look a lot like this.

When I first reviewed Ms. Kirk's work at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival back in 2015, I called her a tremendously talented and charismatic performer. It's an assessment I can only repeat now. She remains a classic singing actress with solid vocal technique and the acting chops necessary to inhabit a lyric.

In fact, a sure sense of the theatrical informed every aspect of this show. Ms. Kirk and pianist/music director Ron McGowan put together a smart, well-paced evening with an impeccably balanced collection of Great American Songbook standards, numbers from both classic and contemporary musical theatre, and pop tunes from Billy Joel and The Carpenters. It was also great to hear the work of contemporary songwriting teams like Goldrich and Heisler and Kooman and Diamond, who craft brilliantly narrative songs that are like little one-act plays.

Ms. Kirk's day career is flight attendant on private jets, and so the show began with the a slow, seductive take on the familiar "Fly Me to the Moon" (complete with the rarely heard verse), followed by "The Jet Set," a clever "list song" from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's stage treatment of the film Catch Me If You Can. The theme of flight returned at the end as the show wrapped up with an upbeat encore of "Come Fly With Me," immediately following a touching performance of the title song.

Tales of travel informed many of the song choices. A reflection on Bangkok's reputation as a "sex tourism" destination, for example, led to haunting version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" (including a dark verse I had never heard before). A vignette about a romantic misadventure in Ireland introduced Paddy Reilly's "The Fields of Athenry" (inspired by that awful event known to the Irish as "The Hunger") which then served as a segue into "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from Evita, with backup vocals from local musical theatre luminary Ben Nordstrom.

Mr. Nordstrom got a brief solo set of his own at that point, consisting of a passionate performance of the title number from David Bryan's Memphis, followed by a perfectly hilarious rendition of Kooman and Diamond's absurdist stalker song "To Excess." The set was just long enough to offer a nice contrast and just short enough to keep the focus of the evening on Ms. Kirk. It was, once again, a perfect choice.

Like many cabaret artists, Ms. Kirk used memories of her life, family, and unfortunate romantic choices to unify and organize the show. That "this is my life" approach can be risky--your audience might not find your personal story as interesting as you do, after all. But Ms. Kirk kept the anecdotes short, entertaining, and focused on the task of providing context for the songs, so her patter never degenerated into the kind of self-referential navel gazing that sometimes accompanies the approach.

So, yeah, perfect once again.

Ms. Kirk's band was perfection as well, with arrangements by Mr. McGowan that were ideally suited to her voice and great work from Ben Wheeler on bass and Aaron Brown on guitar. The balance between vocalists and instrumentalists was excellent, a tribute both to the performers and to the designers of The Stage. Located on the first floor here at KDHX, it has become one of our town's better music spaces.

If you want to know what else Meghan Kirk is up to these days, your best bet is probably to view her Facebook page. Upcoming events at The Stage can be found at t

Review: Ken Haller's latest cabaret show is just what the doctor ordered

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Ken Haller and Marty Fox

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Laughter, the old saying goes, is the best medicine. If so, The Medicine Show, the newest diadem in the crown of St. Louis cabaret star Ken Haller, was just what the doctor ordered. And Mr. Haller is a doctor, so he should know.

Sure, there were serious moments in this cabaret evening inspired by Dr. Haller's long and distinguished career in pediatric medicine. That included a sensitive version of Jason Robert Brown's "Someone to Fall Back On" and a truly moving rendition of "How Glory Goes" from Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins. But ultimately The Medicine Show was about good cheer.

And that's a good thing, given that contemporary American politics often leaves the more thoughtful citizen feeling (to continue the medical theme) like a Christian Scientist with appendicitis (a joke I stole from Tom Lehrer).

The comic tone was set at the very beginning as Mr. Haller (I'm dropping the "Doctor" from here on out, if we're all OK with that) entered from the house wearing an obviously fake black wig and singing "Ken Haller's Miracle Elixir" (formerly "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" from Sweeney Todd) with music director/pianist Marty Fox playing Todd to his Toby.

It was fast and funny, and set an engaging tone for the rest of the evening. It also showed the strong rapport between Mr. Haller and Mr. Fox, who often added a second voice to the evening to complement his sterling pianism.

The show reached its emotional heart with a lovely medley of "Holding to the Ground" from Falsettos), "Home" from The Wiz, and that Muppet classic "The Rainbow Connection" that was all about home, hope, and holding fast to what counts in life. Through it all, Mr. Haller delivered the goods with that combination of theatrical smarts and vocal authority that has made him one of our town's principal cabaret exports.

The Medicine Show was performed on April 8 at The Stage at KDHX where it will make a return engagement on Saturday, June 24. The Stage is the state of the art performance space with seating for around 100, great sight lines, and an adjoining café, it's a welcome addition to the roster of cabaret rooms in town.

This week, life is a cabaret

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Lovers of the art of cabaret will find a lot to like in Grand Center this week as The Cabaret Project of St. Louis (of which I am a board member) presents the annual St. Louis Cabaret Festival. Held in conjunction with the St. Louis Cabaret Conference, a nine-day professional training seminar for cabaret singers from St. Louis and around the country, the festival features six nights of widely varied performances by local and national artists. Both the conference and festival are spearheaded by St. Louis cabaret entrepreneur Tim Schall.

Faith Prince

It all starts on Tuesday, July 19, at 8 p.m. with First Stage: The St. Louis Cabaret Conference High School Showcase. The evening features young performers from the High School track of the St. Louis cabaret conference. As with the adult tracks, these performers first had to audition for slots. Those who made the cut then got intensive training in the art of song performance from Broadway's Karen Mason and American Idol's Peisha McPhee along with Tim Schall and Webster University's Carol Schmidt. I've seen the High School showcase in the past and it's wonderful to witness how talented these kids are so early in their careers. The performance takes place at The Stage @ KDHX, just east of Jazz at the Bistro in Grand Center.

Jason Graae

Wednesday, July 20, at 8 p.m. brings a double bill of two powerhouse performers: Tony Award winner Faith Prince and her long time friend and L.A. Drama Critics Circle winner Jason Graae. Titled The Prince and the Showboy (a joking reference to the 1957 Marilyn Monroe/Laurence Olivier comedy The Prince and the Showgirl), the evening promises to be one of belly laughs and great music. Having seen both Ms. Prince and Mr. Graae on stage in the past (and having been coached by both of them at previous St. Louis Cabaret Conferences), I can guarantee you that they are tremendously talented actors, singers, and comics. Expect an evening of high-powered entertainment that will keep you smiling long after you leave. The performance takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall in Grand Center.

Marilyn Maye

Thursday, July 21, at 8 p.m. it's a return engagement by the astonishing Marilyn Maye with pianists and long-time collaborators Billy Stritch and Tedd Firth and (as if there weren't already enough talent on stage) a guest appearance by jazz diva Ann Hampton Callaway. A cabaret legend who appeared a record number of 76 times on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Maye has been packing them in at Carnegie Hall, New York's 54 Below, Feinstein's, Birdland, and in clubs and concert venues throughout the country. Reviewing her appearance here in 2007, I praised her "immediate and honest communication with the audience." "Maye's boundless energy and obvious delight in her material," I wrote, "in combination with her cheerful, off-the-cuff repartee, establish an immediate bond with those of us on the other side of the spotlight."

Both Stritch and Firth are strong solo performers as well, by the way, and for local jazz lovers Ms. Callaway surely needs no introduction. It will be a joyous, jazzy, spectacular cabaret event created specifically for St. Louis Cabaret Festival audiences, and you can see it at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Tony DeSare

Friday, July 22, at 8 p.m., the Sheldon will play host to Tony DeSare and his Trio in a wide-ranging evening that runs the gamut from Sinatra classics to Prince, and includes some of Mr. DeSare's own tunes. Named a Rising Star Male Vocalist in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has three top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has headlined in prestigious venues such as New York's 54 Below and Carnegie Hall, along with major performing arts centers and numerous symphony orchestras throughout North America and abroad. This is Mr. DeSare's first appearance here in St. Louis, so this is a great chance to catch a rising star.

Saturday, July 23, at 8 p.m. it's back to The Stage @ KDHX for The St. Louis Cabaret Conference Professional Track Showcase. Mentored by Marilyn Maye, Faith Prince, Tedd Firth and Billy Stritch, as well as other members of the Cabaret Conference faculty, these are singers from the most advanced of the Cabaret Conference's three tracks. They're established cabaret pros from around the country, often with many shows to their credit, who are polishing their craft here in St. Louis. The showcase presents each of them in short, carefully tailored sets that display their range and talent. The first pro track showcase was last year, and it was impressive.

Ann Hampton Callaway

The St. Louis Cabaret Festival concludes on Sunday, July 24, with the St. Louis Cabaret Conference Closing Night Showcase and Celebration at the newly remodeled Jazz at the Bistro in Grand Center. After five days of working on their craft, its time for the core group of talented singers of the St. Louis Cabaret Conference to show audiences why they've come from all over the country to be mentored by the Conference's notable faculty. As someone who has seen and/or performed in most of the closing showcases over the years, I can attest to the wonderful variety and skill of the performers who take the stage in this big, two-act show. Seating for pre-show dinner or drinks begins at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7. This year, your admission also includes a post show party complete with free munchies that starts up as soon as the last bow is taken.

For more information, visit The Cabaret Project web site. Tickets for all events are available via MetroTix. You can also hear interviews with Tim Schall and Marilyn Maye on St. Louis Public Radio and Faith Prince on KDHX, and watch Tony DeSare's preview video on YouTube.

The St. Louis Cabaret Conference and Festival are just two reasons why St. Louis is now regarded as a serious cabaret city. Come one down to Grand Center this week and find out why.

Last and First Songs

Larry J. Weir

Yesterday, I gave you all a sneak peek at KDHX's new home in the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media on Washington in Grand Center, just east of The Bistro. At the time, I wasn't able to announce the date and time when the station would start broadcasting from the new facility because it hadn't been formally announced to the volunteers yet. Now I can.

In an email to KDHX volunteers yesterday, the station's Chief Content Officer, Chris Bay, announced that broadcasting would begin at the Weir Center at noon on Sunday, December 15th. "The last show to broadcast from the Magnolia Avenue building," wrote Bay, "will be Songwriters Showcase, and the last song to be played will be Emmylou Harris, 'Till I Gain Control Again,' which was Larry Weir’s sign-off song. This song was suggested far and above any other by all of you, and is certainly befitting of the occasion.

An artist that was also widely suggested was Bob Reuter, so Ed Becker will play one of Bob’s songs at the end of his show as well, to mark Bob’s significance to the station and his recent passing.

When we switch over, Bev will introduce the first broadcast from the new facility, along with the first song, which will be chosen by our listeners."

As I wrote in my previous blog post, the first song to be broadcast at the new location has yet to be chosen. That's because KDHX is conducting a listener poll to determine what it will be. They'll be collecting nominations until Friday, December 6 at the following link: http://go.kdhx.org/first-song-at-ljw-center Voting will take place Monday, December 9, through Friday, December 13 at that same link.

There are more details on the new location, along with additional pictures, in an article in yesterday's Riverfront Times.

88.1 KDHX: none of the hits all of the time.

Movin' on up

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As you must undoubtedly know by now, 88.1 KDHX is moving to its new home in the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media at 3524 Washington (just east of The Bistro in Grand Center) later this month.  I can't tell you the exact date yet as I am sworn to secrecy (although it's coming Real Soon Now), but I can tell you the last song that will be played at the station's current Magnolia Avenue HQ.

The song, as voted by KDHX vounteer DJs, is the 1975 Emmylou Harris recording of Rodney Crowell's "Till I Gain Control Again."  It was the last song the station's late Operations Manager Larry Weir played on his "Songwriters Showcase" show before his untimely death in January of 2010—which seems only fitting.

[My own nomination—"Goodbye Magnolia" by Jimmy and the Coconuts—was greeted with a wave of indifference.  But I digress.]

The first song to be played at the new location, on the other hand, has yet to be chosen.  That's because KDHX is conducting a listener poll to determine what it will be.  They'll be collecting nominations until Friday, December 6, and voting will take place Monday, December 9, through Friday, December 13.  Surf on over to the poll page to nominate your song!

Meanwhile, take a look at a few pictures of the new digs from the volunteer training/orientation session I attended yesterday.

As you can see, KDHX now has actual offices with actual conference rooms and all the other features of a local independent business. The new building is fully networked, so that all of the broadcast and production studios and communicate with each other and exchange programming.

The third-floor conference room

The Stage @ KDHX is the station's new live performance space. It can seat up to 138 and can be used for film/video events, interactive/educational functions, music, and even small theatre performances. It's equipped with state of the art lights and sound, and all performances can be recorded on audio and well as multiple-camera video.

The Stage @ KDHX as seen from the control pod at the rear

 A closer look at the stage of The Stage @ KDHX
The room can also be set up with cabaret seating;
the movie screen is optional

In front of the live performance space and accessible from the street is The Magnolia Cafe, run by the fine folks at Triumph Grill.  It will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM week nights and 7 AM to 3 PM weekends (later when there's an event at The Stage).  Based on what I saw on the menu board yesterday, they'll be offering soups, salads, sandwiches, pastries and drinks both alcoholic and non.

The counter at the Magnolia Cafe

The decor is funky and inventive.  The chandelier pictured below, for example, is constructed of jars hung from an old manual bowling alley pin setter.  One of the tables is built on a metal fire door from an movie theatre.  Very cool.

There's more to KDHX's new home, of course, including the ability to produce lots of original audio and video performances by St. Louis artists.  For more information, check out the FAQ list.  And stay tuned.  To quote Don Great's theme song for The Jeffersons, we're movin' on up.

Radio, radio

Production manager Andy Coco demonstrates
the new air board

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Grand Center is rapidly turning into the arts hub of the St. Louis area.  Long-time residents like the Fox Theatre, The St. Louis Symphony, and the Sheldon Concert Hall have been joined recently by media organizations like St. Louis Public Radio, Channel 9, and HEC-TV. In November the newest kid on the block moves in: 88.1 KDHX.  Yesterday a bunch of us volunteers got a sneak peek at our new digs, the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media on Washington right next to The Bistro, across from the Fox.  Very cool.

The Weir Center isn't just going to be the new home of KDHX's analog broadcast operations. It will also enable the station to put up a second HD channel with completely independent programming as well as enhanced audio and video production facilities.  There’s also a café (run by the folks at Triumph) and The Stage at KDHX, a 125-seat performance space.

Broadcast studio B.  Beam us up!

Construction on the offices, café, and The Stage is still in its final stages, but the broadcast and production rooms are already up and ready to go, as you can see in the iPhone snaps I took last night.  Programming will move to the new space in mid-November and the new HD 2 channel is expected to be available early next year. 

But wait—there’s more!  With the move to the newer, bigger, state of the art space, KDHX will be providing even more exposure for local performing artists via live on-air broadcasts and performances at The Stage.  Concert audio and video will be available at the KDHX web site.  The goal is to make KDHX a performance and production hub that will provide national exposure for St. Louis performers.

Today, Grand Center.  Tomorrow….well, “Mound City Limits,” anyone?  Stay tuned.

Lighting the stage

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Unless you've been hiding out in a cave for the last 25 years, you probably know about 88.1 KDHX, the station where I've been the senior (oh, that word...) performing arts critic since it went on the air. Even if you're not a regular listener, you undoubtedly saw the "for KDHX" billboards that dotted the landscape for a while as part of the station's capital campaign for its new home in the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media (named after the station's late operations manager).

For that matter, you've probably seen the center itself, clearly under construction on Washington right next to The Bistro, across from the Fox. What you might not know, though, is what the completion of the gut rehab of that big grey building will mean to the local arts and music community.

The Weir Center isn't just going to be the new home of KDHX's analog broadcast operations. It will also enable the station to put up a second HD channel with completely independent programming as well as enhanced audio and video production facilities—which means even more exposure for the local music scene. The real boon to the local arts community and audiences alike, though, will be what's on the first floor—a coffee shop and a 125-seat live performance space.

Named The Stage at KDHX, the new space will, in the station's words, "be a space for us to create innovative programming, just as we've done on-air for the past quarter-century. We'll host concerts to showcase amazing musical talent in ways that you won't be able to find anywhere else." In a community that's starved for small performance spaces, The Stage at KDHX will provide a welcome new venue for local musicians, small theatre groups, comics, cabaret singers, and other performing artists.

kdhx.org

The building will also become the new home of a Grand Center landmark of sorts: the marquee sign from the old Sun Theater. The Sun building itself is too far gone to save, but the Sun will continue to shine (literally; it's got neon!) at the Weir Center.

To find out more about The Stage at KDHX, check out their Kickstarter page and enjoy the video that goes along with this post. In less than two minutes, it neatly illustrates the meaning of KDHX's motto: independent music plays here. And after all, who doesn't like to play?

[This article was originally published at my OnSTL.com blog.]