Broadway guru/ humourist Seth Rudetsky talks a mile a minute about his favourite obsessions: Barbra Streisand and bizarro singing styles, which can be one and the same thing.
Accompanied by a bombastic tape of Streisand singing from her second album, Rudetsky mimics his idol perfectly — right up to the end when she inexplicably sings “the world just falls apard” instead of “apart.”
“The chutzpah! It’s literally a different LETTER!” exclaims the incensed Rudetsky, who will bring his riotous Deconstructing Broadway show to Red Deer’s The Matchbox on Saturday.
Rudetsky is a lot of things — he was a pianist for a dozen Broadway shows, including Les Miz and Phantom of the Opera, a music director for Grammy-nominated recording of Hair with Jennifer Hudson, an Emmy Award-nominated writer for the Rosie O’Donnell Show, and author of The Q Guide to Broadway.
He’s appeared as a TV actor on Law and Order: Criminal Intent and the soap All My Children.
He was also voted “Funniest Gay Man in New York,” and is currently the daily host of the Broadway Show on Sirius/XM Radio, with a weekly Live On Broadway Show from Times Square.
Rudetsky, who comes from a musical family (his first Broadway experience was seeing the musical Hair at the age of four, with his mom covering his eyes during the nude bits), said one of his greatest missions is helping lay people understand which qualities make some singers stellar and others slackers.
In the latter category he places Madonna — particularly Madonna singing the role of Evita, originated by Patti LuPone, who is admittedly a hard act to follow.
Using his private video and audio collection, Rudetsky plans to literally deconstruct — to devastating effect — what’s vocally amazing (LuPone) and what’s a vocal travesty (the Material Girl).
Also in his plans when he comes to Red Deer on Saturday is to discuss highlights and lowlights from the short-lived Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
If that’s not enough, he will then launch into Cher performing all the roles in West Side Story.
Ignition Theatre artistic director Matt Grue initially invited Rudetsky to town to teach a musical theatre master class on Saturday afternoon. When Rudetsky’s agent suggested he also do his stand-up-comedy-style show here, Grue said “I was beyond thrilled.”
It’s the second time Ignition Theatre is offering the community a chance to hear from a Broadway insider.
The professional theatre group previously brought in playwright Anthony Rapp.
Grue, who was taken with Rudetsky’s book Broadway Nights, said “Seth provides a window into that world that isn’t filtered with pretense. He has a certain style that’s infectious, which just adds to the whole experience.”
Grue regularly checks Rudetsky’s website. which has Daily Shout-Outs, reads his Playbill column and listens to his radio show. He is convinced “he’s the most in-the-know Broadway guru I have ever found.”
Besides being hilarious, Rudetsky is also musically brilliant, said Grue. “I own well over 200 musical theatre soundtracks and easily the one I play most often is Seth’s benefit concert of Hair with Jennifer Hudson, Adam Pascal, Harvey Fierstein. . . . It’s amazing.”
While Rudetsky lampoons the quirks of great singers such as Streisand and LuPone, and not-so-great ones, including Cher, Madonna and Bea Arthur, he knows he’s doing no harm to these sizable egos. “They are all big stars and can take it.”
What he hates is when American Idol skewers amateurs who are less capable of rolling with the punches. Fledgling crooners wearing their hearts on their sleeve are routinely told by Simon Cowell that they will never amount to anything in the business, said Rudetsky, “and that’s not only mean, but untrue.”
He points out that Hudson (a 2004 Idol finalist) was also told by Cowell she wouldn’t go anywhere — and she went on to win an Academy Award (for Dreamgirls), a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for her first album.
Kelly Clarkson is another Idol alum that Rudetsky loves. “I’m obsessed by high belters,” he explains, referring to Clarkson’s capacity to send high notes flying out to the rafters.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are $22 ($18 students/seniors) from Ticketmaster.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com