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Over the years, there have been many shows extolling the careers & musical stylings of well-known singers; Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Carol Channing, to name a few. In Special Kaye: A Tribute to the Incomparable Kaye Ballard, Gretchen Reinhagen gives us a taste of the career & music of one of my personal favorites: Kaye Ballard.

 

In the matter of full disclosure, I must confess that I have known Ms. Ballard since 1983, when I was the PR rep for the musical Tallulah! starring Helen Gallagher, with music written by my dear friend, the late Arthur Siegel. I have also seen most of her shows, including her turn in Nunsense at the Cocoanut Grove Playhouse in Florida. Therefore, I was especially interested in what Special Kaye had to offer. And what it offers is a great evening of laughter, theatre dish, special material and a whole lotta fun.

Best known to audiences for her TV show “The Mothers-in-Law” with Eve Arden, Ballard introduced many songs during her Broadway and cabaret career. Reinhagen begins the show with one of those tunes, “I’m Here,” written for Ballard by their shared director, Barry Kleinbort. Another of his songs, sung later in the show, is “When,” from Kaye Ballard…Working 42^nd Street, At Last. Like those two, most of the songs were just part of Ballard’s various shows, from “Stepsister’s Lament” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, in which she played one of the infamous ugly stepsisters alongside the late Alice Ghostly, to the pairing of “Love Makes the World Go Round” from Carnival with “Lazy Afternoon” from Golden Apple, in which Ballard first made her mark. A Broadway Tryouts Medley, including “Broadway Baby,” “Be With Me,” “Take Off the Coat” and “If,” focused on Ballard’s Broadway aspirations, some successful, and others, not.

There was a lovely segment about her work with long-time accompanist Arthur Siegel, the composer of many of the songs from New Faces of 1952, in which she recounts their love of the comic strip “Peanuts,” which led into “I Wanna Be Yours,” complete with flute. It made me think about Kaye finally playing Carnegie Hall and talking about proud her mother would have been to see that. She then knocked over the music stand and, with papers flying all around, just stood there to the uproarious laughter of the audience.

Admittedly, there were things I didn’t know about Ballard and songs I didn’t identify with her, such as the ode to “Sara Lee,” which was her idea and was written for her by Kander & Ebb, as was “My Coloring Book,” which I first remember on The Second Barbra Streisand Album, and which Reinhagen mentioned was a big hit for Sandy Stewart.I also hadn’t realized that Ballard also wrote some of her material, such as the hilarious “Teeny Tiny,” written with Marshall Barer (Once Upon A Mattress, New Faces of 1956).

Reinhagen gives us, not so much a biographical show about Kaye Ballard, but rather a tribute to the music she performed and the material written for her, that fit her to a tee. Blessed with amazing chops, Reinhagen sings with a sincerity and honesty that Ballard also possesses, making Special Kaye a hit from the first number to the last.

Directed with style by Barry Kleinbort, who has written special material and directed shows for Ms. Ballard including Kaye Ballard…Working 42nd Street at Last, with Musical Direction by David Gaines, Special Kaye has extended its run at The Metropolitan Room, Sundays, January 17^th and 24^th @ 4pm and Thursday, February 4^th @ 7:30pm

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