What’s the best way to celebrate your 50th birthday… or, as I like to say, “The Big Five-OH!”?  A multi-course meal at a fancy restaurant?  A trip to an exotic location?  Dancing all night long?  Or, how about a birthday bash/cabaret show/album relase party named… Fifty Ways To Leave Your Forties, surrounded by all your friends and equally talented peers in attandance?  That’s how Broadway World Award Winner and multiple MAC Award nominee Becca Kidwell chose to celebrate her big day.  This may have been a “Happy Birthday” for the talented Ms. Kidwell, but it was also the “Happy-est” night in New York City at Don’t Tell Mama on Monday, May 4th.  This singer truly follows the advice from one of the songs in her show: “Sometimes you’ve got to… Make Your Own Party!” And what a (wild) party it was!  Fifty Ways To Leave Your Forties was fresh, fun, flamboyant, and fabulous.  Yet even with the lighthearted mood, the show had some truly provocative moments which touched upon such issues as the journey of middle age and the challenges of womanhood.

Becca Kidwell may have been surrounded by friends in the audience, but on stage she was also surrounded by some fine talent, or her “merry band of misfits” as she called them: her backup singers, AKA her “muses” Lynda DeFuria and Evelyn Sullivan, Ritt Henn on bass, David Silliman on percussion, and Jon Weber on piano. (Weber was also the show’s musical director.)  Becca’s opening number was the riotous It’s Your Funeral. DIscuss.  Written by Christine Lavin, it was a true treasure of campy delight which could not have better set the mood for what was ahead– especially with Becca’s personalized touches such as “Dearly beloved: We are gathered here to say goodbye to Becca Kidwell’s first 49 years!”.  Becca added that she was thinking about three things as she approached this big day: dreams, dessert, and death (!)  After that opener, the audience just knew that they were in for a wild ride.  Ms. Kidwell has a reputation in the cabaret world as a proudly “emotional creature ” who wears her heart on the strap of her sleeveless dress and who shares her vulnerability with her audiences. But on stage, she is confident, self-assured, and VERY comfortable being the leading lady in her own performance piece; She can lean up against that piano and assume the “diva stance” like a pro.  This new show is also a prime example if the singer’s sense of humor.  It made me ask myself: Does this gifted performer know just how FUNNY she is?  

Kidwell performs seven of her own original songs in Fifty Ways to Leave Your Forties. (All of which are on her debut CD What You Don’t See. Hint, hint…) One of them is the outrageously over-the-top Old Collagen Try, in which our heroine pulls out a baton (!) and Mr. Silliman breaks out the kazoo (!!).  The soulful, easy-on-the-ears Something Drastic is another example.  It was also a fine example of Kidwell’s vocal capabilities. (More about that later!).  Later on, the audience is treated to Kidwell’s smart, funky Tired, Tired, Tired. But it’s Becca’s Mr. Darcy, also later on in the show, which is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine and perhaps Kidwell’s most emblematic original.   Every song the artist has chosen in Fifty Ways To Leave Your Forties, whether written by Becca or by another artist, seemed custom-written for Ms. Kidwell’s charms– whether it was Time to Seize the Day from the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or the high-spirited Xanadu, the title track from the cinematic camp classic.  I can most assuredly say that this is the first time I’ve heard an artist put that song in their playlist– and this reviewer for one was most definitely appreciative. And then there’s Fifty Ways To Leave Your Forties, the song itself.  It’s a take on the famous Paul Simon song with hilarious parody lyrics by Kidman and her friend Jeff Harnar. (Harnar also directed the show.) It was a showstopper and yet another comedic highlight.

Of course, all the personality and humor in the cabaret world wouldn’t mean much if a performer didn’t have the vocal prowess to back up their presence.  And yes, indeed, Becca has that prowess.  She’s got a smooth, flawless delivery.  She can hit those challenging notes, which was shown throughout the show with numbers like her original Jump, Twirl, and Sing and perhaps shown best of all with her stunning delivery of Susan Werner’s May I Suggest later on in the evening. Of course, there was an encore.  I won’t give it away except to say that it was a song of hope and inspiration for anyone else with a landmark birthday coming up.

Becca Kidwell knows exactly what works for her, and she knows exactly how to deliver it to her audience.  Fifty Ways To Leave Your Forties is her best show yet.  

For upcoming performance dates and to purchase Becca Kidwell’s CD What You Don’t See, visit here.