INSIDE-OUT

WARNING: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU START. SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT FINISH IT.

PHOTO BY: MARTHA SWOPE

"AN UP-TO-THE-MINUTE NEW YORK TRIANGLE...A ROMANTIC COMEDY WITH AMUSING SCENES, SNAPPY SCENES, BITCHY SCENES, GOOD LINES WITH FINE TIMING...A CLIMACTIC ENCOUNTER." -N.Y. Times "MINGLES HEARTY LAUGHTER WITH A WHOLE NEW KIND OF HEARTBREAK... THREE PERSUASIVE PERFORMANCES...A PLEASURABLE ROMANTIC COMEDY...A SPIFFY PRODUCTION." -N.Y. Native

CHARGIT: (212) 944-9300

TUES.-FRI. 8 SAT. 7 & 10 SUN. 3 & 7 PLAYERS THEATRE

115 MACDOUGAL STREET (212) 254-5076

Cabarets

by Michael Shepherd

Margaret Whiting Freddy's

Gay Comedy Don't Tell Mama

argaret Whiting, whose clarion, pure voice has been delighting audiences for four decades, raised the rafters at Freddy's during her recent twoweek gig. Whiting's pipes are amazing: a combination of strength and subtlety, with a rich lower register and a smooth, limpid upper tone. She can render a traditional. number such as "Cockeyed Optimist," or a more contempo Sondheim ballad such as "Being Alive," with equal artistry

Whiting's magic derives from the strong personal note she brings to each number. Her medley from Pal Joey speaks of love lost and found with maturity and wisdom. "Being Alive" is so full of zest for life and an acceptance of "what is" that we sit stunned as we absorb Whiting's brilliant reading of the lyrics..

"What Love Has Done to Me," from Girl Crazy, has a lovely, laid-back quality, while "You Turned the Tables on Me," which will be featured on Whiting's upcoming album, has a sexy sassiness. Whiting seems to caress the words with her rich middle register on Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well."

There's an element of fun and irreverence to "Little Den of Iniquity" and rich nostalgia to Whiting's old standard, "Moonlight in Vermont." Jack Wrangler, who directed the set, has done a superlative job positioning the material. We never remain too long in one emotional key. Whiting frames her material with personal patter and reminiscences, so that the music becomes a reflection of her

personality. As long as there are performers like Margaret Whiting in our night clubs, the future of cabaret is secure.

Every Sunday night at eight, Don't Tell Mama becomes New York's mecca for upand-coming as well as veteran gay talent. Gay Comedy, hosted by the witty, acerbic Bruce Hopkins, manages to raise the laughter quotient to new highs.

Lynn Lavner, a five-foot comedienne/ composer/singer with 12 feet of talent, tickles us with her wry composition "My Trick," and touches our souls with "Such Fine Young Men," a lament for all her friends. who have died in the AIDS epidemic. Her patter is witty, topical, and delivered with an irreverent insoucience.

DeLaria and Stroebel, lovers who have made their mark on gay comedy in Gotham, regale during the weekly soap The Gays of Our Lives. Stroebel, who has always been a first-rate musician, has really grown as a comedienne. Her often dead-pan delivery is right on target. DeLaria, the zaftig half of this team, remains not only a truly funny lady, the Sophie Tucker of gay comedy, but an excellent vocal interpreter of jazz.

A newcomer, Alec Mapa, brings the risibles to new heights with his witty commentary and reading from Gordon Merrick's novels. This man, with his sweet face, innocent eyes, and acid tongue, has a fine future in store. His humor is often reminiscent of Joan Rivers with a gay subtext, and his delivery is quick and razor sharp.

Tim Cahill is one of Mama's veteran comedians. His take-off of Truman Capote is so real, it's as if Truman and his mildmannered mouth, which usually dripped honey masking lethal doses of arsenic, had come back to earth one more time.

At six dollars for a cover, Gay Comedy may be the best buy in town. Catch it and put food on the tables of a talented brother and sister.

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A

COVER BOY?

If you think you do send a recent photo and your phone number to:

The New York Native Production Department 249 West Broadway New York, New York 10013

46 NEW YORK NATIVE/DECEMBER 23-29, 1985.

Margaret Whiting