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Enjoy this Review from Gambit Weekly!  

1/08/08 

Cutting Loose

By Dalt Wonk

You got to have friends" was the opening number, and it was clear the performers had plenty. Cutter's, a small bar on Franklin Avenue, was packed, recently, when Becky Allen, Chris Wecklein and Harry Mayronne Jr. took to the bandstand to do their music and comedy cabaret. The trio was in fine form and was complemented by a cameo appearance from the inimitable Miss Viola, the stomp-down Seventh Ward Creole marionette, who occasionally allows Mayronne to pull her strings.

'How many people here are from New Orleans?" Allen asked. A roar of positive unanimity was the response. 'Good," continued Allen, 'then we don't need interpreters."

That sort of Crescent City coziness set the tone for the evening. Much of the humor grew from an appreciation of living in a place that's been described as an exotic island close to the United States. Sometimes the coziness felt just a bit forced, but the crowd loved it anyway. Maybe there's a sense of belonging that comes from everyday life in a city that's famous for not being an everyday kind of place.

'You've got to be crazy to live here / You can't be playing with a full deck," sang Allen and Wecklein, surrendering to that self-mocking sentiment. Appropriately enough, the song was written by Ricky Graham and the late Freddie Palmisano " two Big Easy-ites who have provided many original show-biz celebrations of Y'at Land. Graham, of course, continues to do so on a regular basis at Le Chat Noir.

Brief upbeat monologues and skits alternated with musical numbers accompanied by Mayronne on the piano. There were rousing solos and close harmony duets. Allen has been known for her prominent lungs for quite a while. Wecklein seemed more confident on this outing than in the past. For instance, he cut loose with a full-blast version of Johnny Ray's weeper 'Cry" from the '50s.

Naturally " in a city where diners sit around the table talking about where they're going to eat next " food came up for discussion. The perilous topic of gumbo, for instance. What's in that gumbo? Could be anything. 'Just reheat it / Close your eyes and eat it / And don't forget to say your prayer."

The utterly weird, not to say X-rated, ritual of crawfish consumption was touched on. 'Break off the head and stick your tongue in!" Allen instructed, pleased as could be. 'I seen it make a Yankee faint / You think I'm kidding, but I ain't!"