Rian Keating

Songs From My Trunk

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, October 20, 2024

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Rian Keating returned to Don’t Tell Mama to share a new collection of delightful childhood memories and some memorable songs that shaped his life. Beautifully directed by Tanya Moberly with fine music direction by pianist Daniel Curry, Keating once more proved himself an expert storyteller in both narration and song. By recalling his sneaking off to late-night showings of Paper Moon and Mame as a young teen and his first encounters with cabaret doyen Jan Wallman, he created a stage full of living characters through word and his physicality. He used every inch of the Don’t Tell Mama stage with effectively, as went he went far upstage for a sweetly dignified “My Foolish Heart” (Ned Washington/Victor Young) blended with “Penthouse Serenade” (Will Jason/Val Burton).

There were other excellent pairing of songs to great effect throughout the show. For example, he contrasted “Two for the Road” (Leslie Bricusse/Henry Mancini) with “My Favorite Year” (Karen Gottlieb/Michele Brourman). The first looked forward and the second was reflective; that brought a deeper understanding to both sets of lyrics. Keating constantly imbued his words with great meaning and specificity; this is what makes him a compelling performer despite his vocal issues. An example was the delicate romantic yearning he expressed in a blending of the traditional “Blow the Wind Southerly” and the Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill “My Ship.”

It was a pleasure to attend an afternoon show in which the artist didn’t insist on referring to it as” the evening.” Keating even went so far as to make “Lazy Afternoon” (John Latouche/James Moross) his opening number. Other highlights included an adorable “Day In, Day Out” (Johnny Mercer/Rube Bloom) that embodied a tale of his first sexual awakening (thanks to an ice-cream vendor), and a wryly funny “Another Song About Paris” (David Frishberg) that had a delightful arrangement by Curry. These numbers and the stories that were interwoven with them were what made this such a smart and satisfying program.