Jon Jon Briones and Marcus Choi

If there’s one thing Broadway performers like doing more than singing in a Broadway musical, it’s singing the night away with other Broadway performers on a Monday night. Stroll over to Joe’s Pub any Monday night and there’s probably some sort of benefit going on with Broadway performers. In fact, my friend Sharone Tannenbaum just produced Artists for World Peace on Broadway at Joe’s Pub.

Now here’s where my friend Marcus Choi comes into play. Marcus is currently in Allegiance, a fantastic new musical starring Lea Salonga and George Takei. You should see it. It’s at the Longacre on 48th street.

Anyway, Marcus needs to start performing my song “Evil is a Yellow Face” at the countless Monday night shows.

Two years ago Marcus and the wonderful Jon Jon Briones performed “Evil is a Yellow Face” at the Japanese American National Museum as part of the Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986 exhibition. They killed it. And the audience loved them.

So now that Marcus is back on Broadway I think he should dust off the Ming the Merciless costume and start singing about world domination again.

The song is from my musical China the Whole Enchilada, written with my dear friend Paul Mirkovich. In the song, Ming the Merciless and Fu Manchu lament about how they were once the number one bad guys in the world but have been replaced over the years by the Nazis, then the Commies, and then al Qaeda. So they plan on making a comeback.

We’re no ordinary malcontents/We’re arch villains from the Orient /We’re Ming and Fu Manchu/
The dreaded slant eyed two/Out to destroy the human race/Evil is a Yellow Face

In the end they’re thwarted by Charlie Chan and Hong Kong Phooey.

FYI: all of those characters were at one time played by white actors, except Phooey, who was voiced by Scatman Crothers. What up with that? (I cover that info in the song as well).

Evil is a Yellow Face. You know you want to do it Marcus.

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This week my buddy Sting opened his show The Last Ship on Broadway. Besides many differences between the two of us — okay, too many to list — here’s one of the big differences between Sting and me when it comes to opening a commercial show in NYC.

Here’s a picture of Sting at the opening of The Last Ship.

Here’s a picture of me at the opening of Around the World in 80 Days.

Can you spot the big difference? I mean, besides Sting being front and center and me being shoved to the side?

If you can’t see it I’ll tell you. Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen showed up at the opening of The Last Ship. Who showed up for my opening? Randy Jones. The cowboy from the damn Village People.

You can see Sting trying to put on a brave face with Billy and Bruce but I know just under the surface he’s dying and thinking, “Where the hell is Randy? He comes to the opening of an envelope. Why isn’t he here?”

The Randy Jones Difference

And I don’t blame Sting for being upset about Randy not being there. The old Cowboy brings magic to an opening. A sort of gravitas. And right now The Last Ship is trying to right its course because of it.

Reviews for Sting

Here’s what the NY Post said yesterday:

The critics praised his lyrics and music, using nearly identical words and phrases — “haunting” (The Post, Newsday, The Times, Variety), “heartfelt” or “heart” (The Post, The Daily News), “crafted” or “craftsmanship” (Deadline, The Post, The Times). “Stirring” and “mournful” were in the mix as well.

Alas, “throw-your-hats-in-the-air, Broadway-has-a-new-smash,” “not-to-be-missed,” or that old standby, “run-don’t-walk-to-the-box-office” were nowhere to be found.

“The Last Ship” needed old-fashioned money reviews. It didn’t get any, and it’s in trouble.

Reviews for me

If Randy Jones had been there, I’m sure The Last Ship would have gotten reviews like this:

“Eye-popping new Off-Broadway production!” 

“Highly inventive theatricality! A trip well worth taking!” 

“May be the best staycation New York has to offer.” 

“Rarely has the magic of the theatre been more brilliantly and delightfully achieved.”

You see? The YMCA Squatter came to my opening and I got terrific reviews. No Randy at Sting’s opening and ok but not boffo reviews.

The Final Verdict

Sting and I will probably get together and commiserate. He got ok reviews, will get a couple of Tony nominations, probably will win a Tony or two, and end up the darling of Broadway. I got boffo reviews, won bupkiss and am the darling of no one.

But one thing is clear. Sting may have gotten Joel and Springsteen but I got Randy Jones. Point goes to Brown.

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Who’s on First

My friend Sheffield posted this classic video of Abbot and Costello’s Who’s on First Routine. When I was a kid I held a tape recorder up to the TV to record it. I listened to that recording over and over again until the tape wore out. This routine is complete genius.

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Carolina Philharmonic Pinehurst Pops: A Night on Broadway with Janine LaManna

Hey North Carolinians, on Saturday, February 1, the Carolina Philharmonic presents Pinehurst Pops: A Night on Broadway with Janine LaManna. If you’re in the greater Fayetteville, NC you should run to this event. Why? Because Janine LaManna will knock your socks off. Even if you’re not wearing socks, the next time you put some socks on they’ll immediately be blown off.

Here’s what Maestro David Wolff, principal conductor of the Carolina Philharmonic, has to say about Janine:

“When Janine débuted with the Philharmonic last summer at Pops on the Green, singing a trio of “007” songs, the crowd of around 2,000 went wild. It’s not just another beautiful Broadway voice; she’s one of the most versatile and persuasive musical communicators I’ve ever worked with. She defies classification — from Broadway Baby to Memory, every character springs to life with such conviction and lavish detail that it’s hard to believe you’re listening to the same performer. In a word, she’s a showstopper.”

Janine is the bomb. Is that what the kids say these days? She’s appeared on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone, Sweet Charity, Swing, The Look of Love and Seussical (She was Gertrude McFuzz). She’s also a fantastic actor. Years ago she was in a staged reading of Around the World in 80 Days and knocked it out of the park.

And on top of all that she’s one of the sweetest people I know and I’m honored to call her a friend. She calls me a stalker but that’s a minor detail. Seriously, if you get a chance to see her perform, do so. You won’t regret it.

Photo courtesy: Carolina Philharmonic

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