Josh Grisetti is the kind of guy you can’t help but root for. Not only is he talented beyond words (effortlessly funny, a great singer, a touching actor: a triple threat!), he’s also so candid and open about his relationship to his work and the industry, that one almost imagines him like Jim Carrey’s impossibly honest character in Liar Liar, except Josh is not annoying. Headlining his first solo show ever called Don’t Bother, I’m Here, at Feinstein's/54 Below on September 23, he took the stage and didn’t immediately call attention to himself, but instead pointed out his impressive seven piece band, which gave him, and us, great pleasure throughout the recital (he'd told us how the band came to happen in an interview). After a brassy version of “Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile”, the self-deprecating artist asked us to lower our expectations and warned us he hadn’t prepared a script, something he kept alluding to every time he felt he had taken a misstep.
One can only hope he becomes aware that there was nary a misstep in what turned out to be the rare cabaret show that was both intimate and spectacular. Proving why he’s thought of as one of the hardest working men in the business, Grisetti made sure to cover all his bases by not only featuring a superb music selection, but also making sure his banter with the audience and his band (his rapport with his musical director was worthy of a late night show of its own) was great, providing heartfelt anecdotes about his life, and even introducing a “random fact bowl” which saw him read strangely compelling pieces of trivia provided by his fans. Did you know giraffes use urine to determine whether they’re worth mating or not?
Despite the fact that the show lacked a script, Grisetti was able to build a fascinating narrative around his musical selections, when he sang “I Believe in You” from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, he tied it to a story of self-discovery, when he performed “I Like ‘Em Fat Like That” from Five Guys Named Moe he shared a hilarious and heartbreaking tale of losing, well, tail (“premium ass” he called it) after losing a high profile TV job. But perhaps the night’s most poignant moment was when he sang “Send in the Clowns” and confessed it was a love song to his craft. After listening to stories about how he was always on the verge of success which always seemed to elude him at the last second, Sondheim’s haunting ballad washed over the audience like a wave of melancholy.
By the end of the show, which he topped off with rousing renditions of “That’s Life”, “I Promise You a Happy Ending” and “Give My Regards to Broadway“ Grisetti realized he literally had run out of time to do an encore, he announced that Alice Ripley was about to take the stage and asked those who wished for an encore to return the following night. For a show that focused so often on disappointment and the role of fate, it was only fitting that Grisetti got the last laugh. He earned it.
For tickets to Josh Grisetti's show visit Feinstein's/54 Below.
