Kim Smith: Misfit reviewed
Monday, March 21, 2011 at 8:02AM
Australian Weimar Kabarett artist Kim Smith’s new show Misfit, which opened on the 2nd of March at the Laurie Beechman Theatre attracted terrific reviews, bewitching the audiences.
He will return to Neue Galerie’s Café Sabarsky on the 21st of April at 9.00pm and will present an evening resplendent with the glittering decadence of 1920s Berlin. Singing in German, French, and English, Smith will guide his audience on a journey through the musical mayhem of the Weimar Era in all its seedy brilliance.
For reservations, click here or call (212) 628-6200, ext. 485.
Reviews
It is very reasonable to assume that Kim is going to become a household name one day soon. He is charismatic, motivated, attractive and most importantly, talented. He is a true artist, not because he is young or sexy, not because he has glorious vocal chords and not because he has more projects in the works, but because he is a master of his craft. Effortlessly engaging, smart in his performance, sharp in his deliver, we can expect Kim to explode and dominate the cabaret and performance scene.
Read the full review by Larry Hargrove here.
Perhaps it is time for another Cabaret Scenes writer to review Kim Smith. I have run out of adjectives, such as “mesmerizing” or “compelling” or “brilliant.” So I will here borrow one from Steve Ross, who supplied me with it at the end of Kim’s most recent show, Misfit. Steve called him “audacious.”
And of course he is. He admits to flirting openly with his audience as he invites them to understand that he is an “alien,” a “misfit,” taunting them seductively to deny his appeal to parts of themselves they usually try to repress. He is also an alien in another sense, an Australian proud of the cut-throat background of a country settled by criminals who were sent there instead of jail, and quite capable of taunting Americans with the cauldron of emotions (he describes it lasciviously as a delicious soup he loves to drink) that lies beneath its Puritan heritage. But why try to describe Kim Smith and his show? It has to be experienced. It is perhaps enough to say that if it ran for two hours instead of one, it still wouldn’t be enough.
Read the full review by Barbara Leavy here.
I’d bet that Kim Smith could sing the dictionary and turn it into a dramatic musical theatre piece, keeping the audience spellbound from aardvark straight through to zymurgy. To every song he brings a commitment and focus that are intense and hypnotic. His delivery, in a voice with no fuzzy edges, is enviably precise, and more often than not his interpretations will be different from any other you may have heard. Add to this his striking good looks that are almost improbably pretty and you’ve got a unique artist, unlike anyone else I know of in this country. Indeed, he’s an import from Australia—I guess we don’t grow ‘em like that here.
Read the full review by Roy Sander here.
…there’s no one else around these days offering the kind of cabaret that he does so compellingly. Well, maybe Ute Lemper, but that’s it. Smith needs to be seen, and now.
Read the full review by David Finkle here.
It’s inspiring and amazing that someone so young is out there performing this style of cabaret. When Kim sang his first note, I knew I was in for a delightful evening. When Kim spoke his first line of patter, I knew that delightful evening was turning into a hilarious evening. When he combined the two, I didn’t want the night to end!
Read the full review by Adam Rothenburg here.
KIM SMITH, with Steven Ray Watkins, piano
Date: April 21
Time: 9.00pm preceded by a prix-fixe dinner at 7 p.m.
Venue: Neue Galerie New York, Museum for German and Austrian Art 1048 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
Entry: $110 (dinner $65, performance $45; purchased together).
Reservations: Call (212) 628-6200, ext. 485 or click here.
Related posts:
Kim Smith guest stars on Blog Talk Radio program “Musical Theatre Talk”
Kim Smith to premier his new cabaret Misfit @ the Laurie Beechman Theatre (New York)
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