Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Cabaret Roundup: THE INCREDIBLE DRUNKERTONS at Joe’s Pub and JUSTIN DAVID SULLIVAN at Green Room 42

• By drediman
• May 8, 2025
• No Comments

In terms of cabaret and nightlife entertainment, few cities can rival the vibrancy of New York’s scene, with its nightly offerings and the vast variety of acts to choose from. Here are two shows I caught this past week.

JUSTIN DAVID SULLIVAN
The Green Room 42

On this past rainy Monday night, I had the chance to drop by The Green Room 42 to catch Justin David Sullivan take the cabaret stage for one night only (RECOMMENDED). Relatively new to New York’s musical theater scene, the trans non-binary singer/actor of Mexican and Asian descent made their winning Broadway debut in the exuberant Max Martin jukebox musical & Juliet in the endearing role of May. Wearing an elegant, shimmering gown designed specifically for Sullivan for the occasion, the youthful performer was greeted with enthusiasm by their fans, who were treated to a set comprised mostly of Broadway show tunes. The standout numbers of the evening were the songs that made big emotional statements, namely “It Won’t Be Long Now” from In the Heights, “Come to Your Senses” from Tick, Tick… Boom!, and “Something to Shout About” from Boop! The Musical (which can currently be seen on Broadway). Each were sung with heart and delivered in a pleasing open throated style the yielded both to a healthy belt and stylish pop vocal phrasings. Other highlights included a sensitively delivered “I’m Not that Girl” from Wicked, an adorable rendition of “In My Own Little Corner” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Sullivan disclosed that the tile character is a dream role of theirs, and I think they would be fantastic in it), and a moving version of Britney Spears’ “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman”, which appropriately closed the show. Despite their youth and relative inexperience in cabaret, Sullivan was at ease throughout, charming the audiences with their appealing personality and the effervescent twinkle in their eyes.

THE INCREDIBLE DRUNKERTONS
Joe’s Pub

Then over at Joe’s Pub, I had also had the opportunity to get introduced to former child stars Sizzle and Funk Drunkerton, otherwise known as the Incredible Drunkertons (RECOMMENDED). Having risen to stardom at an early age, the brother-and-sister duo eventually fell into obscurity, where many a child star sadly end up. In an effort to claw themselves back into public consciousness, Sizzle and Funk have been working the scrappy nightclub circuit, including last week’s one-night-only stop at Joe’s Pub. The brainchild of Marinda Anderson and williambryantmiles — who also perform as the Incredible Drunkertons — the act in essence is a highly amusing parody of fallen former child actors, as well as a commentary on the fleeting nature of fame. They follow in the footsteps of fictitious nightclub acts like Susie Mosher and John Boswell in Cashino, Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman as Kiki and Herb, and of course Bridget Everett and the Tender Moments (the smash act that calls Joe’s Pub its home). Like those acts, the Incredible Drunkertons straddle both cabaret and the silly antics of pseudo-improvisational sketch comedy, conjuring a theatrical happenings that ask you to suspend your disbelief and enter into an alternate universe (for those of you uninterested in audience interaction, beware!). The resulting experience is immersive theater in the truest sense, blurring the boundaries between reality and make believe. What makes Sizzle and Funk so hilariously endearing is the air of desperation and shamelessness — so giddily manifested by Anderson and Miles — that permeates their shows, which alternates between involved storytelling and riotous song covers.