So Kaye: The Songs of Danny Kaye

To understand what a brilliant force Danny Kaye was in the entertainment world, one has to look no farther than the opening credits of The Court Jester (1956), often cited as his finest film comedy. In just under 3 minutes, Kaye, costumed as a medieval jester in black and red tights, teases us with glimpses of his acting, singing, dancing, and comic prowess as he whimsically bats the credits away with his baton. Of course, by then, the world was already well acquainted with his madcap talent, having seen him on Broadway and dozens of films, including the widely popular films Hans Christian Anderson and White Christmas. His trademark fey agility gave rise to widespread, though unsubstantiated rumors that he was having an affair with close friend Laurence Olivier.

While The Court Jester will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, Boston's own cabaret court jester, John O'Neil, celebrates his own 50th birthday with a special 5th Anniversary edition of his Danny Kaye tribute, ?So Kaye: The Songs of Danny Kaye, this Sunday, December 4 at the Wheelock Family Theater, which, while we are citing milestones, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. If anyone in Boston's cabaret community could do justice to Danny Kaye's oeuvre, it would have to be O'Neil, who has a particular knack with rapid-fire lyrics and eccentric comedy, well on display in ?So Kaye, which earned him an IRNE nomination in 2001.

Though still a work in progress when it debuted 5 years ago, ?So Kaye, nevertheless showed immediate signs of having legs. Since then, O'Neil has performed ?So Kaye almost non-stop throughout Massachusetts, and up and down the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. And for those who have seen the show before, O'Neil feels that the new edition of the show has evolved into a much stronger, much richer show than its early incarnation. ?I can honestly say, like any relationship, living 5 years with a man is going to change you,? O'Neil quips, causing this writer to break into laughter, at which point he adds, ?I heard you laugh, but it's really true.? From his East Fenway home and music studio, where he teaches voice and vocal performance, O'Neil took time out to explain just how the past five years have changed him and his show.

?I've had the good fortune, after that first show, of meeting people who knew Danny,? explains O'Neil. ?I got to spend some time with the gentleman who designed the set for Two by Two, his last Broadway show. Then completely by accident, I picked up a newspaper and saw a picture of Harry Ellis Dickson, and read that Dickson was the man who introduced Kaye to conducting with the BSO [in addition to being a renowned actor, Kaye was a classical orchestra conductor, a gourmet chef, a pilot, and co-owner of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.].? O'Neil was obsessed with meeting Dickson, knowing that he could give him great insight into Kaye's life. Through a head-spinning six degrees of separation, TV news personality Chet Curtis who frequented O'Neil's piano bar gig at Ciro's in Quincy's Marina Bay, got O'Neil a phone call with his friend Michael Dukakis, whose wife, Kitty. is Dickson's daughter. Dukakis hooked up O'Neil with Dickson, who agreed to meet with O'Neil. ?[Dickson] was the kindest gentlest man. He invited me to his home, and over 2-3 afternoons I sat with a tape recorder, and he talked about Danny and their friendship. He was in his 90's and not in fair health, so visits were short, but he always said come back,? O Neil recalls. ?I'd show up with a deli platter from Zoftigs in Coolidge Corner, and we would sit and talk about Danny Kaye.?

O'Neil 's chats with Dickson helped him to put his finger on what he felt was missing in the show. ?I was 2 years into the show. I hadn't felt like I'd found it yet. I was still having fun and so were the audience, but yet it seemed empty, a little hollow. I don't think I'd found the heart of it yet, ? admits O'Neil. ?I think the heart of it came when Harry coached me in the Yiddish song, ?Oif'n Pripenshik? [from the 1981 television film Skokie.].? Dickson not only spoke but read Yiddish, and offered to help O'Neil with the song, which also helped O'Neil tap into the heart of the monologue that precedes it. Kaye, who was born David Daniel Kaminsky, took the role of Max Feldman, a holocaust survivor, to reconnect with his Jewish roots. In some ways that helped O'Neil tap even deeper into his own Irish heritage, which emerges several times in ?So Kaye. O'Neil notes, ?I finally started to feel more at home with Danny. Because of that, the humanity that I may have comes through.?

O'Neil, who is openly gay, doesn't make direct references to his own, or Kaye's rumored sexuality in ?So Kaye, but if you've seen O'Neil perform, you know he can't keep much of a lid on it. ?All of my patter has a high degree of camp, even when teasing someone for not being quite Irish, or poking at my mother's fashion sense,? confides O'Neil. ?Within the twinkle of my eye and the nod of my head, I think there is a nod to Danny as being a campy personality himself.?

Within the show, O'Neil features many of Kaye's famous patter songs. ?Tchaikovsky,? written by Ira Gershwin and Kurt Weill for Kaye's Broadway debut in Lady in the Dark, had Kaye listing the names of 54 Russian composers in 38 seconds, stopping the show nightly. Cole Porter wrote ?Let's Not Talk About Love? for Kaye, and O'Neil includes the rarely heard verse. O'Neil bravely includes ?The Maladjusted Jester,? written for Kaye by his wife Sylvia Fine to show off Kaye's uncanny ability with rapid-fire lyrics.

While O'Neil plans a few surprises in the show, fans of ?So Kaye will be glad to know he has kept the zany ?Vessel With A Pestle? routine, probably Kaye's most famous bit from The Court Jester. For this performance, he brings his friend and fellow cabaret performer, Nina Vansuch as a special guest, who relocated to California several years ago, but will return for this show. Vansuch will take the part of ?Griselda,? played with deadpan arch menace by Mildred Natwick in the film. ?I can tell you that Nina will bring something to that stage that we've never seen. Nina is the quirkiest sidekick I have ever had,? proclaims O'Neil. ?Her insight into who the character is, even beyond what the film showed, is superlative. When she told me her first line, I knew this would surpass all past experiences with this piece.?

Not only in the spirit of the season and the venue, but also the spirit of Danny Kaye, who was a UNICEF ambassador, O'Neil's show will be a Toy Drive for local children in need.

The past five years with Danny Kaye has truly been a journey for O'Neil. ?This piece never stops evolving. Every performance there's something new for me to discover. There's an opportunity for me to take a little more risk. And somehow, without having ever met him, Danny Kaye taught me those things,? reveals O'Neil. ?I finally learned how to be comfortable in my own skin, completely honest with myself and with the audience.? It is clear that Boston's own court jester is nobody's fool.

John O'Neil performs ?So Kaye, The Songs of Danny Kaye, on Sunday December 4, at 2 PM at the Wheelock Family Theater, 200 The Riverway, Boston. Tickets are $20- $16, and $12. For reservations, call 617.897.2147.