By Victoria Looseleaf
She’s not just for comedy anymore. That’s right, this Goddess of hilarity from Saturday Night Live can carry a tune. But those who watched D.C.-born Gasteyer for six seasons do her fabulous characters on the show – from Celine Dion and Babs Streisand to Bobbie Mohan-Culp, Martha Stewart and Hillary Clinton (alas, the erstwhile first lady did not sing, nor does Ms. Martha, at least not to our knowledge), well, we all know she’s got some serious vocal chops.
And she’s bringing them to Los Angeles for the West Coast debut of her cabaret act, Elegant Songs From a Handsome Woman. And, hey – it’s not as if Gasteyer hasn’t got a theatrical pedigree, having studied voice and “art songs” at Northwestern. Since leaving SNL in 2002, the comedy diva has sung Fosca in Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, the green witch Elphaba in Wicked (both in Chicago and on Broadway), and Mrs. Peachum in the Weill/Brecht masterpiece, Threepenny Opera. And she’s even been Fanny Brice in a Pittsburgh mounting of Funny Girl. (Note: A Bartlett Sher-directed production will land at L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre starring, enigmatically, Lauren Ambrose, best known from HBO’s Six Feet Under.)
Will Farrell & Ana Gasteyer as the Culps
Whatever! It’s all good, including Ms. G’s turn in the musical Reefer Madness. As for her cabaret act (which she also did at the tony NY boîte, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency), the mega-talent will be backed by a five-piece band (and oh, do they rock). She’ll be belting out such tunes as the Theme from Valley of the Dolls (my sister – with whom I recently reconciled – and I watched the classic flick when we were in Florida for The Leaf’s birthday, quel hoot), Slap That Bass (what would we do without the Gershwins) and the Gilbert & Sullivan ditty, Titwillow from The Mikado. But when I asked Ms. G. to sing me a few bars of the G & S tune, she demurred.
Not to worry. And, if you’re unable to make it to Catalina Jazz Club this weekend for the show in which the lady will be all gussied up, including sporting a kind of Breakfast at Tiffany’s up-do and pearls for days, you can soon catch Ana all over the small screen. She’s playing a love interest for The Leaf’s favorite nudge, Larry David in the last two eps of this season’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then there’s ABC’s upcoming sitcom Suburgatory, with Gasteyer in the recurring role of Sheila Shay, the “typical nosy neighbor – this hyper-perfect woman with a little dose of TMI,” says the star herself.
With the world in such shambles these days, it’s great knowing that Ana Gasteyer is doing what she does best – making us all laugh and feel better about things. Go Gasteyer, go. And for The Leaf’s first of two KUSC mini-chats with the chanteuse, click here. And click here to listen to our second convo. In the interim, this fan can’t wait to have a cocktail in her fabulous honor. Make it extra dry, puhleeze…
