Theater Review: "Another Evening of Inappropriate Song"

Blue Fire Stage Company is reprising a fan favorite cabaret, this year title “Another Evening of Inappropriate Song (EOIS)” and the evening of bawdy musical numbers is back with a vengeance. Rebecca Degnan is the director and producer and Mark Degnan serves as technical director.

An Evening of Inappropriate Song is a very adult cabaret filled with the most inappropriate songs that the production team could find... and trust me that there is absolutely no censoring. While this cabaret is very naughty, rest assured that it is well-produced and very funny.

The packed opening night “Friday Fun” audience was highly entertained by two acts of hysterical songs from “Avenue Q,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Heathers,” “Girls5eva,” Stephen Lynch and “Rent.” Because I was able to compare the virtual program from last year’s event with the one that was provided for this year via a QR code on the tables, I can attest to the fact that the set list is completely different.

While all of the singers give strong and marvelously funny performances of their various numbers, there are some highlights. Melissa Rostkoski serves as the master of ceremonies and after much prompting finally performs “Accident Prone” by Kirsten Guenther and Laurence O’Keefe.

Michael Cartwright uses his wonderful singing voice to perform as Abraham Lincoln for “I’m Gonna Like This Play” written by Eli Bolin and Sam Forman. “The Negative” from the musical “Waitress” is delightfully brought to life by Brandon Iovene, Jess Soucy and Christa Douyard. I remembered Iovene from last summer’s “The Laramie Project” and throughout the cabaret this young performer demonstrates a wide range of talents.

“The Temp and the Receptionist” by Kooman and Dimond is performed by Topher Dougnan and Susan Smith. Chase Lenart and Tarin Degnan do a number from “Evil Dead the Musical,” and Lynch’s number “Lullaby (The divorce song)” is performed by David Walls.

The first act closes with drag queen Morgana De Luxe selling “If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sittin’ On It” from Black & Blue and the second half begins with a fully produced scene of “The Joke the Musical” from “Mr. Show” featuring Joe Lenart, Iovene, Cartwright, Carolina Villamizar, Douyard, and Henry Tobelman.

“La Vie Boheme” was chosen from “Rent” as the final number and is performed by the entire ensemble, including Dawn Alger (“The BJ Song,”), Ari Doyle (“Phoebe’s Song,”) Kate Garrahy (who sings a song from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) and Smith (who also performs a number from “Avenue Q.”)

The small but mighty pit band is conducted by Rebecca Degnan on piano leading musicians Sal D’Allesandro on guitar, Jordan Brint on both upright and electric bass, and Dan Volpe on drums.
Robyn Joyce did the lighting design that worked well on the stage that sits at the short end of the space and Richard Arsenault was in charge of sound design that had only one noticeable snafu.

The event once again includes a themed basket raffle, with items ranging from naughty to salacious. Bring your cash, or we accept credit cards, VenMo or PayPal. Doors will open one hour before each show for you to grab a seat, bid on raffle baskets, and eat and drink. Attendees may bring their own food and drink to enjoy during the performance at long tables covered in butcher paper that are tightly packed into the space.

Strongly recommended for ages 18 and up. Definitely leave the kids at home.

Remaining performances are tonight, Sept. 24. There will be a Happy Hour show at 6PM and the first ever Late Night show at 10PM. General admission tickets are $25/each. The Saturday Happy Hour performance is almost sold out, so get your tickets now while you still can. You can use the code LATESHOW for 20% off your ticket purchase for our Late Night 10 pm performance… adult humor is funnier after the sun goes down. Purchase tickets at https://bluefirestage.ticketleap.com/eois22/

The mission of Blue Fire Stage Company is to build a collaborative, diverse, and accepting community through the arts and arts education. The cabaret is a fundraiser for Blue Fire Stage Company, and all proceeds will go to fund production costs for the 2022-2023 season and the purchase of an audio system. The performances are presented in the cafetorium at the former Haddam Elementary School, easy to find at 272 Saybrook Road in Higganum.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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