Monday, August 10, 2009

Razzle Dazzle

Jason Dinetz is a showman. His most recent presentation was called Razzle Dazzle, performed at Goodhandy’s on Aug. 8 and 9. At first I wasn’t even sure I was in Goodhandy’s, as Jason covered all of the naked men pictures with his own posters.

Jason’s commitment to his work is absolute. The production values were outstanding. The cast consisted of Jason and five lovely ladies (Rachelle Ganesh, Tara Joshi, Melissa Yang, Jackie Wood, and Jennifer Fell). They did more than back him up, they took the stage with bold choreography and one of the girls even does an aerial act.

Really, the whole show was very effective. Interspersed with the musical numbers was video playback, the best being his parody of MTV’s Cribs. Less effective was a reel of testimonials, my own included. We don’t need to hear how fabulous he is – we can see it. If I question anything, it might be Jason’s own costumes, verging on S&M Gap. I watched the whole show with Goodhandy’s security dude Matthew Pierce, and the two of us were dumbfounded over the artfully placed trousers zipper applied to Jason’s face during one particular number.

There were performances of “Ray of Light” and “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago, as well as several songs from his own CD, Inspiration. I particularly enjoyed the stark presentation of the ballad “So Long Till Next Time”. But there were also whips and chains and masks and the whole show ended with a fire act. It was fine breathless entertainment. If things don’t work out for Jason Dinetz the performer, not to worry. Anyone who can mount a show like this would certainly flourish behind the scenes as well.