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

Share on Google+:

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

Cabaret Review: Meghan Kirk hits all the right notes at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival

Who: Meghan Kirk
What: The Story Goes On
Where: The Gaslight Cabaret Festival at The Gaslight Theatre, St. Louis, MO
When: March 20, 2015

St. Louis' own Meghan Kirk has been appearing at the Cabaret Project's monthly open mic night (which I host) for around a year now. I've been impressed as hell with her work there, but haven't been able to get to one of her shows until this past Friday, when she presented a revised version of the show she premiered at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival last fall.

I'm glad I finally did; she's a tremendously talented and charismatic performer—a classic singing actress with solid vocal technique and the acting chops necessary to inhabit a lyric.

As Ms. Kirk said at the very beginning of her show—right after a charmingly flirty romp through Kander and Ebb's "Don't Tell Mama"—she's a dyed-in-the-sequins musical theatre geek. No surprise, then, that her song list is heavily weighted towards numbers originally written for the stage, from Kern and Hammerstein's "Bill" to Jeff Bowen's " A Way Back to Then" from that ultimate insider musical theatre send-up, "[title of show]" (2006). But she also made room for recent cabaret hits like Heisler and Goldrich's "Taylor the Latte Boy" and a clever Beatles medley that crams a surprising number of the Fab Four's hits into an remarkably short time span.

Ms. Kirk knitted all this together with memories of her life, family, and multiple careers as a performer and flight attendant on private jets. 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.

Of particular importance were her memories of her grandfather, a former professional singer whose fondness for music of the stage and screen colored her childhood. Family Christmas gatherings, she recalls, were more not so much about carols as about selections from "Oklahoma." This sets up a touching moment towards the end of the show when she sings a duet version of Sondheim's "Love, I Hear" (from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum") with the digitally remastered voice of her late grandfather, culled from private recordings he made in the 1960s.

That's the sort of thing that could have been overly precious, but Ms. Kirk's good taste and professionalism kept it real and made it the emotional heart of the show.

Guest stars can also liven up an act, and Ms. Kirk had two very strong ones this time. Local singer and choreographer JT Ricroft joined her for an engaging run through Kern's "I Won't Dance" (with the Dorothy Fields lyrics) and guest pianist Dan Duffy took over the baby grand from Carol Schmidt for Jason Robert Brown's always welcome "Stars and the Moon" (from the under-rated "Songs for a New World").

Speaking of Ms. Schmidt, her arrangements fit Ms. Kirk's voice and persona as perfectly as the singer's shiny low-cut gown fit the rest of her, and her backup vocals added lovely touches, most notably in a medley that mixed "Leaving on a Jet Plane" with Joan Baez's highly personal "Speaking of Dreams." And Ms. Schmidt's pianism was impressive as always. Ben Wheeler provided a solid musical foundation on acoustic bass.

Meghan Kirk's skillfully crafted and thoroughly enjoyable show was part of the spring edition of The Presenters Dolan's Gaslight Cabaret Festival, which continues through April 11 at the Gaslight Theater in the Central West End. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

Chuck's St. Louis theatre choices for the weeend of November 20, 2014

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

Share on Google+:

New This Week:

The Presenters Dolan present Christopher Limber: Riffs in a Set of 10 on Thursday, November 20, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "Riffs in a Set of 10" is a hip and hot blend of Jazz and poetic interludes recalling the sizzling after-midnight club scene of the 1940's. Homage and affection is paid in joyous, tuneful reflections of the greats: Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Mel Torme, Duke Ellington and Billy Holiday among others. Rhythmical illusion comes alive, setting the scene for 10 classic Jazz numbers rendered faithfully by an ensemble of musicians and St. Louis Cabaret favorites. Featuring Rose Fischer,Michele Isam, Joe Dreyer and David Torretta." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, visit the web site.

My take: I saw the earlier and shorter version of this at the St. Lou Fringe Festival this past summer and was impressed, to say the least. it was a polished and sophisticated bit of entertainment back then. The intervening months are likely to have made it even more so.

The Presenters Dolan present Lara Teeter: Lucky to Be Me on Saturday, November 22, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. " Join Lara Teeter as he reprises his sold out show (after taking taking it to NY's 54 Below from its debut in St. Louis last spring), in which he shares his journey as artist, teacher, husband and dad. Claimed by both our town and Broadway (a Tony Nominee) as one of its own, Lara Teeter shows us just how fresh the songbook is in a master song and dance man's hands. And feet." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, visit the web site.

My take: I caught the world premiere of this show last summer at the Gaslight. Back then I described it as "high-energy entertainment from a veteran of the musical theatre stage both in the Big Apple and here in St. Louis." Since then it has been to NYC and back, so expect great things.

Mariposa Artists presents Robert Breig in Making Evert Moment Count: The Music of Peter Allen on Friday, November 21, at 8 p.m. The show is directed by Lina Koutrakos and features Rick Jensen on piano. " After two sold-out performances, Robert Breig is delighted to bring back "Making Every Moment Count - The Music of Peter Allen" on Friday, November 21st 8PM at The Kranzberg Arts Center. And with Rick Jensen as music director and arranger of songs, this show gives us more than just a glimpse of Peter Allen's life in story and song....to Oz and beyond!" The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: brownpapertickets.com.

My take: Robert is a very open and engaging personality on stage with a smooth, seamless voice that is a good match for Mr. Allen's music. The fact that he's supported here by cabaret powerhouses like Koutrakos and Jensen (both powerful and fiercely talented performers in their own right) is icing on the cake.

The Presenters Dolan present Meghan Kirk: The Story Goes On on Friday, November 21, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "The beautifully talented Meghan Kirk has recently moved back to St. Louis from Los Angeles, where she performed regularly at The Gardenia. Her new show, crafted for this performance, is about the songs that have followed her throughout her life. Did you ever have a song pop into your head at a pivotal moment? A song that provided direction, that answered a question? That helped get you through? A song that you might not have thought about for years? These are the songs that make up your life soundtrack." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, visit the web site.

My take: In my capacity as the host/producer of The Cabaert Project's monthly open mic night, I've had a chance to see Ms. Kirk in action many times and have always enjoyed her work. She's polished, poised, and yet open and engaging. Should be a good show.

The Fox Theatre presents Motown, the Musical Tuesdays through Sundays, November 18-30. "It began as one man's story... became everyone's music... and is now Broadway's musical. MOTOWN The Musical is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and many more. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. Featuring classic songs such as “My Girl” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” experience the story behind the music in the record-breaking smash hit MOTOWN The Musical!" The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit the web site.

My take: As Amy Burger writes in her review for KDHX, this show is a must see for fans of the record label that brought the national spotlight to so many great black performers: Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations; the list just goes on and on. There's also a more serious reason to see this show, though. "At various points," writes Ms. Burder, "it seemed serendipitous that this particular show should be running at this time in this city. The racial themes and moments reflecting both Motown's and the nation's history felt searingly real and meaningful in light of current racial tensions in St. Louis. To that effect, those scenes were much more impactful than they might be playing to a different city."

Mariposa Artists presents Beverly Brennan in A Night With Day on Saturday, November 22, at 8 p.m. The show is directed by Lina Koutrakos and features Rick Jensen on piano. "Beverly Brennan is back on her sentimental journey in "A Night With Day" on Saturday, November 22nd 8 PM, paying tribute to one of her idols, the incomparable Doris Day. The show will feature songs from Doris Day's big band days, her movies and musicals, and her amazing recording career. Bev will also share stories about Doris's life, which has been far from a bed of daisies! With Rick Jensen at the piano - it's magic!" The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: brownpapertickets.com.

My take: Ms. Brennan is a local treasure and she's teamed here with one of the great cabaret music directors, Rick Jensen. And that, as her dad (legendary sportscaster Jack Buck) might say, is a winner.

Held Over:

Mustard Seed Theatre presents the a cappella musical All is Calm Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 and 5 PM, November 14-December 14. “Join us in celebrating the power of peace in this acapella musical based on the true story of soldiers during World War I who for one night, put down their arms and played soccer instead of exchanging bullets.” Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

My take: This show is apparently going to be a holiday tradition at Mustard Seed, and with good reason. The story of the remarkable holiday truce that spontaneously interrupted the insanity of World War I remains an inspiring reminder of what happens when ordinary people ignore the manipulations of their leadership and allow their basic decency to take control of their actions. The lesson for contemporary politics is clear.

Photo: John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 104th season with Boom Town Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, November 14-23. There will also be a show on Thursday, November 20, at 8 PM. “From the prolific pen of movie and TV star Jeff Daniels, author of more than a dozen plays, comes Boom Town. Angela Tompkins has a husband, a failing convenience store and a dream of running off to Chicago with her lover, the local banker. In an explosive story that mixes small-town politics, love and betrayal, Angela must face reality when her husband discovers the truth.” Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

My take: Daniels has proven to be a prolific and gifted playwright, with an impressive ability to create characters and situations that grab and hold your interest. Full disclosure: I'm on West End's board of directors and play reading committee, which vetted this script for the company.