Dont Miss The Last of Four Almost Sold Out Amazing Solo Performances by Everybody Loves Sidney (Myer) at The Laurie Beechman Theater

Sidney Myer is the most beloved impresario in Manhattan. Hes THE Sidney referred to in I Love Sidney! a phrase constantly flowing from the lips of theatrical and musical cognoscenti. Sidneys day job? Hes an eternal helping hand, the longtime booking manager of Dont Tell Mama, the venerable West 46th Street Cabaret Club which, thanks to him, provides an initial stepping stone to almost anyone whos become ANYONE in musical theater as well as to any who (alas!) still remain anyone.

Sidneys also a remarkable, theres-nobody-quite-like-him archly androgynous actor/singer whos won countless awards for his incomparable droll material, delivery and wit. Even music maven Stephen Holden recognized Sidneys exceptional qualities in his New York Times review of the 2015 Cabaret Convention, to wit, the evenings high point was a deadpan rendition of a comic obscurity by Sidney Myer, a beloved latter-day vaudevillian. For the past 25 years, despite constant urging from admirers, Sidneys limited his brilliance to cameos at clubs, benefits and conventions, including monthly star turns as one of the More Than Ready For Prime Time Players of Ricky Ritzels Broadway where Sidneys contributions are always greeted with whoops and hollers of delight.

So what convinced our modest boyo to finally venture out of the performing closet, let out all the stops and put his profuse talents on display at his first solo show in 25 years?

The what was a who and the who was K.T. Sullivan, the Broadway/Cabaret diva who recently became artistic director of The Mabel Mercer Foundation and is also a member of the multitudes who would like to take Sidney Myer home.

How did she pull it off? The traditional way. She made him an offer he couldnt refuse. A Mabel Mercer Foundation Sponsored DVD recording session so everyone who watched Sidney perform could soon actually take a reasonable facsimile of him home with them.

What so special about Sidney? Hes a cross between Noel Coward and Fannie Brice with a blend of sophistication and style, sentiment and kitsch which have you roaring with laughter one moment and wiping away tears a few seconds later. The infinite variety in his choice of material, his commentary, his asides, his astonishing body language, his facial expressions, his perfect diction, his risqu naivety are astonishing and unexpected. There aint nobody else quite like him. Hes really one of a kind!

Sidneys song list for his current show represents the zenith of artistry. No one but he could blend fifteen some comic, some obscure, some both diverse songs into a flawless 90 minutes masterpiece. Starting with A Bad, Bad, Man, which to my shock was not composed by a young, hip duo with indeterminate sexual preferences but by the old, stodgy and straight Irving Berlin for sharpshooter Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun! Sidney next gives a hilariously compassionate sweetness to No Ring on Her Finger, before providing a merry new slant to the 1930 Boswell Sisters hit, Im in Training for You. My favorite funny number sung by Sidney is the Chuck Prentiss tune in which the singer bemoans the fact that everyone South of the Border mistakes him for Mary Cohen pronounced Maricon when uttered with a Latino accent which isnt his name! Sidney reveals more tender feelings with The World in Your Eyes, Pocketfull of Miracles, and Dance with Me Slow, from a musical introduced at Dont Tell Mama and gives a haimish gay perspective to Its So Nice to Have A Man Around the House.

His encore is the always popular Good Advice, by Allen Sherman, in which Sidney suggests to Mr. Otis, who invented a room that goes from side to side to make that room go up and down, and convinces the Wright Brothers, who believed the wings on the washing machine they invented were for hanging clothes out to dry, to take it out to Kitty Hawk and see if the damn thingll fly.

His companions in perfection were his long-time collaborator, Peter Schlosser and his Music Director Tracy Stark with Skip Ward on double bass and Rex Benincasa on percussion.

Originally two performances were scheduled by K.T. Sullivan to accompany the taping. Psst! They sold out within hours. A third performance the following evening also sold out. Sunday November 13th 2016 at 6 p.m. is the last performance in this series. Its not sold out yet. I just bought a ticket for it so I can revel in this particular show by the very special Sidney for the second time. Remember, Sunday Night November 13, 2016 at 6 PM. Hope to see you there.

Im sure Mabel Mercer would have been proud of the show sponsored by her foundation and that she would probably have also wanted to take Sidney home with her and might have even succeeded if she were mighty enough to fight off K.T. Sullivan and me.