Conceived and directed by Gerry Geddes with musical direction by Darius Frowner, Someone Else’s Hat, A Sondheim Wishlist, Vol. 2 took place at New York City hotspot Pangea on Sunday, July 14. The evening kicked off with The Song is You, from the 1932 musical Music in the Air.  As performed by the dynamic Andre Montgomery, the song could not have been a better opener, especially with the combination of Montgomery’s high-energy presence and the song’s timeless lyrics:

“I hear music when I look at you, A beautiful theme of every dream I ever knew.
Down deep in my heart I hear it play. I feel it start, then melt away!“

The Song is You was written by Jerome Kerns and Oscar Hammerstein, but this afternoon was actually a musical tribute to the legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.  Geddes shared his inspiration for the show:  “Sondheim was asked to list 50 songs he’d wished he had written. I did ‘Someone Else’s Hat, Vol. 1’ in May– and it was so well received I decided to do a Vol. 2 with 12 more songs.  In ‘Sunday in the Park with George’, Sondheim wrote the song ‘Finishing the Hat’ about creating a work of art; So, that’s why I called the show ‘Someone Else’s Hat’, because it features the works of other songwriters he admired.” An omnipresent figure in the New York City cabaret scene, Gerry Geddes is a producer, director, writer, and performer.  He is author of the provocative memoir Didn’t I Ever Tell You This? (More about that later…) Another of Geddes’ talents is the ability to assemble his fellow performers together to create a winning show.  On this evening at Pangea, the cast of six critically acclaimed singers not only got the chance to show off their well-established individual talents, but also proved their ability to also be a part of a lively ensemble cast.  

So, about that cast… The striking beauty Dana Aber, making her performance debut at Pangea, gave the audience When Did I Fall in Love from the 1959 musical Fiorello!  Following the eternal theme of romantic longing (or, unrequited love…) explored by decades of musical theater heroines, Aber made quite an impression.  Adorned perfectly with piano by the hardworking Darius Frowner, every one of her notes hit their mark… particularly with the song’s finale.  Next up was one of Geddes’ frequent creative collaborators, Brian Childers.  Childers gave the audience the oft-redone Arlen/Mercer classic I Had Myself a True Love.  All of the well-known versions of this song had been previously done by women, so Childers performing the song with the original pronouns intact gave this delectable version a new meaning, making the ballad something of a torchy twin to another classic, Secret Love.  It was also a fine vehicle for Childers’ vocal talents.  Childers was followed by the charismatic George Winters, who gave the crowd a song which was just begging to be heard again: The Rules of the Road.  With lyrics like, 

“Well, love often shows a funny return.
The brighter it glows, the longer you burn.
And lord only knows,
Love has little concern for the fools of the road.

But that’s how it goes,
You live and you learn,
The rules of the road…“

The Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh number may have been written in 1954, but it is more relevant than ever in 2024.  Sung with Winters’ amazingly unblemished voice and once again flawlessly adorned by Frowner’s piano, it SOUNDS better than ever too.  Winters really sang the hell out of it.

Speaking of songs that are just begging to be heard again… The phenomenal Sue Matsuki performed When in Rome (I Do as the Romans Do).  It was a crowd-pleasing foot-tapper for sure… and the audience also got to hear Sue rhyme “happily” with Napoli”: What could be better?  The song also reminded us that Ms. Matsuki is such a fine singer that we often forget just how funny she can be. But Matsuki can also reliably convey feverish romanticism just as well.  More about that later… 

Brian Childers returned for the campy, patently corny yet oh-so-funny crowd pleaser Buds Won’t Bud.  It was yet another example of a song that’s just aching to be heard again, and Childers sang it with gusto. (It should be noted that Childers is NOT a subtle singer!…)  Karen Mack, another of Geddes’ frequent collaborators, performed What’s The Use of Wondrin’ from the eternally beloved Carousel.  Her version was a reminder of just why the song and the musical are still so revered.  Dana Aber returned with a funny, charming version of Vanilla Ice Cream (originally from 1961’s She Loves Me).  After hearing it, I now believe that Aber’s version– complete with some truly delectable creative touches– is the ONLY version you will ever need to hear.  George Winters returned for Real Live Girl from 1962’s Little Me. Winters delivered an appropriately campy rendition.  In an age where most boys have switched their, ahem… “education” about women from pin-up magazines to the internet, the song is, once again, timelier than ever in 2024. (Hooray for “Real Live Romance”!)

In between the music, Gerry Geddes read passages from his new book Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?  One passage was called “Roman Holiday”, in which the audience got to hear about how Geddes found himself in the Shirley Devore-esque experience of meeting a fellow American from his own hometown while in Rome. Another was “Blue”, the name of which was inspired from Joni Mitchell’s 1971 album Blue being the omnipresent music of that era in Greenwich Village: As Geddes often wrote about in his memoirs, it was undoubtedly the heady and hedonistic gay epicenter of New York City at that time.

As mentioned earlier, Sue Matsuki can sing just as well about romance as she can keep her audience in stitches.  That afternoon, attendees at Pangea got a taste of Sue’s sensual side with Irving Berlin’s Let’s Face the Music and Dance.  Andre Montgomery returned for the Arlen/Mercer Blues in the Night.  It was every bit as titillating as you’d expect… The closing number of the night was Karen Mack singing the prophetic The Best Is Yet to Come, which is always the feeling I get when watching this particular octette of performers. Mr. Sondheim would be proud!