Bebe Neuwirth brings cabaret show to Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia

BEBE NEUWIRTH doesn't do the fluffy stuff.

Neuwirth's stance makes sense to anyone who only knows her as Lilith, the icy, monotone psychiatrist and eventual wife of Kelsey Grammer's Frasier Crane — the iconic role that made Neuwirth famous on the beloved sitcom "Cheers." But it means something different when it comes to compiling songs for her cabaret-style shows, like the one which Neuwirth will perform tonight at the Prince Music Theater, "Stories with Piano #3." For those shows, the fluffy stuff means the songs that Neuwirth doesn't deem emotionally hefty enough.

Not because she doesn't like it, though. She's just not very good at it. "It's like a beautiful dress that just doesn't fit you right. You go, 'Gee, I wish I could wear that, but it just doesn't look good on me,' " Neuwirth said. "Some fluffy stuff I can wear. But most of it, I have friends who would wear it beautifully. If I can't find a way into the fluffy stuff, give it to someone who can."

For "Stories with Piano #3," Neuwirth and her music partner Scott Cady ("He plays piano, I sing," Neuwirth said. "Together we tell stories.") culled songs from across the musical theater landscape, covering everyone from Stephen Sondheim to Kurt Weill to Kander and Ebb (she even throws some Tom Waits and Edith Piaf in there for good measure).

Neuwirth is no stranger to the composers whose songs she performs. She won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in a revival of Kander and Ebb's "Chicago." In 2004, Neuwirth won critical acclaim for her show "Here Lies Jenny," featuring Weill's songs. Many of the songs she'll perform appear on her recent album, "Porcelain."

Neuwirth and Cady compile the songs like an epic mixtape, linking compositions that work together both musically and thematically. Neuwirth has just one requirement: "All of these composers tell the truth when they sing their songs. They don't hold back, they don't gloss things over. They're deep. They don't create their songs in a shallow way, whether they're professing some profound and deep thoughts that are sad or if they are deep and profoundly joyous, whatever the range of emotions are.

"But don't be frightened! This is not an evening of harsh realities, but of what life really is. Life has great highs and joys and ecstasies, and all different kinds of love. There's a couple of funny songs in there. Humor is not humor unless it's truthful. It's just not funny."

Neuwirth has been playing Philly stages sporadically since she was a kid, performing with the Princeton Regional Ballet Company during Philly-based competitions. She still has fond memories of performing at the Forrest Theatre in a 1979 touring production of "A Chorus Line," later debuting on Broadway in the show as the seductive, aging dancer Sheila. Neuwirth loved the vibe of the Forrest, performing on the same stage where actors had gone through the same rituals for generations before her. (For the record, Neuwirth has her own set of preshow rituals, but she won't say what they are. "They'll lose their power if I do," she said with a throaty laugh.)

As a veteran of both stage and (small) screen, Neuwirth is particularly qualified to judge the new crop of shows at the intersection of both television and musical theater: "Glee" and "Smash." But she hasn't watched much of either, gravitating toward murder mysteries such as "Person of Interest" or reruns of "The Closer." But she has a distaste for reality shows that pit artists against each other, equating them to nothing more than a game show. "Call it what it is. To dress something up and say that's a competition or a reality show, it's a game show and I personally have a really hard time applying that to the arts. There are some spectacularly talented singers who come on 'American Idol' and 'The Voice.' I just don't like people exploiting struggling artists for their own benefit and turning something into a competition. It's hard enough to have a career in the arts. Why impose a game show on that?" n

Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 8 p.m., Wednesday, $50-$125, 215-569-9700, princemusictheater.org.

Contact Molly Eichel at 215-854-5909 or eichelm@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @mollyeichel. Read her blog posts at www.philly.com/entertainment.