Jane Krakowski's gig at Feinstein's at the Regency mixes sexy with cheeky.
Presented inhouse. Music director, Michael Kosarin. Opened, reviewed Oct. 6, 2009. Runs through Oct. 17.
Band: Jay Leonhart, Kevin Kuhn, John Redsecker, Lawrence Feldman.
Stage and smallscreen star Jane Krakowski slinks up onto the Steinway in a strapless red satin sheath and launches into Cole Porter's "The Laziest Girl in Town." This makes for quite a provocative entrance, and the performer manages to more or less maintain the mood through her 60-minute set at Feinstein's. The "30 Rock" star gives her fans a show that is somewhat offbeat by cabaret standards, as indicated by its tongue-in-cheek title, "Jane Krakowski Has Sold Out ... Tickets Available."
Krakowski comes bearing a 2003 Tony Award for "Nine" and a 2006 Olivier for the West End "Guys and Dolls" (which fared far better than the Broadway revival that bombed at the Nederlander last spring). She ruefully mentions, however, that she left last month's Emmy Awards empty-handed. No matter; Krakowski is in especially good form. Theater audiences know she is a fine singing comedienne, and she acquits herself extremely well.
While her material holds up, that is. The set starts strong but hits some bumps along the way, with song selection the culprit. The Porter tune is followed by a welcome reprise of "A Little Brains, a Little Talent," one of Krakowski's songs from the Encores! summer production of "Damn Yankees," and both are topped by a parody version of Rodgers and Hart's "Zip" from "Pal Joey," with updated lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. ("Tweet! Alec Baldwin was just brilliant today. Tweet! Doogie Howser makes it hip to be gay.")
This comic souffle proves impossible to follow, and how; a rewritten rap rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," from Chad Beguelin, lands with a thud. There are another couple of duds -- a coked-up medley of old-time tunes "When I Get Low I Get High" and "Wacky Dust"; a '60s-beat tune borrowed from one of Ann-Margret's variety show appearances -- that try to shake up the room with indifferent results.
This rummaging through the suggestive song bag does pay off, though, with a wonderful rendition of Eubie Blake and Andy Razaf's "Handy Man." Performed as a duet with Jay Leonhart on the string bass, this is a highlight: Krakowski lands every nuance, and Leonhart -- a fixture on the bandstand in New York's prestige rooms -- is exceedingly droll.
Krakowski closes her show with a rehearsed encore of "Rubber Ducky," complete with bubbles. She pulls out a sterling silver bubble blower in a trademark blue jewelry bag from Tiffany. Who knew?
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Date in print: Thu., Oct. 8, 2009