SONGS FOR A SUMMER EVENING

Palm Springs during summer becomes – well – a desert. All of the theatres close for the summer, and a large percentage of the winter population heads back to their northern homes for the hot months. So it was exciting when the Roost Lounge, technically in Cathedral City, launched The Roost Revue in the last week of August. The cabaret program is scheduled for one outing a month, at least until December.

The Revues will all be hosted by Jason Mannino, a popular local who splits his time between CV theatre and cabaret. His guests for the first outing were singers Jaci Davis, Joe Savant, and maestro Chip Prince. The room was packed and the audience was quite sophisticated in responding to what they liked, and sometimes what they were not too excited about.

Mannino handles the first 20 minutes with a half-dozen songs and some rehearsed stories. He’s an affable speaker and capable singer and he held the audience in his pocket. Then he brought both guest singers on stage to perform a song that had been cut from Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It was awkward as both singers were reading the words and music, and it felt like we had stumbled into a rehearsal. It also took away from the surprise of seeing each of them being presented for their own set.

The first guest set was Jaci Davis, a local leading lady, musical director, teacher, and absolute charmer. She presented a very smart set of songs including some standards such as “People†from Funny Girl to novelties like “Never Fall in Love with an Elf.” Throughout her set she used her face and body to nail the delivery of her songs, which kept patrons rapt.

At one point, baritone Joe Savant joined her for a duet which I think was from Sondheim’s Passion, a musical which never found a following. Once again the singers were reading the song from their music stand with little audience contact. If a song is not at performance level, it’s better left out.

Savant then performed a set of lyric baritone ballads, most of which ended with him softly going into a falsetto. His voice is absolutely gorgeous, and his face is easy on the eyes and magnetic. There was a sameness to his song selections; I longed for a bit more variety. When Mannino introduced him, he mentioned that Savant had performed leads in Beauty and the Beast and South Pacific. That left me expecting something like “Some Enchanted Evening,†but there was no musical theatre. I would have loved some novelty song that called upon his acting chops in addition to his gorgeous voice, but it was still a very enjoyable set.

Jason Mannino, Joe Savant, Jaci Davis

Mannino then came back with three or four more songs before a trio finale, and that took the playing time over the limit. We have quite a few cabaret performances in The Coachella Valley and the rule seems to be that they run 80-90 minutes. Mannino made his final entrance at the 90-minute mark and announced that he was going to sing three more solos before the finale. That was a mistake. Perhaps one song at that point, or more effectively, go right to the finale. The formula for the Roost Revues seems to be Mannino as host, presenting two guests. More of the spotlight needs to be saved for the guests with each presenting 2/5 of the show and the host presenting 1/5, plus holding it together with introductions and banter, and remember that a longer show isn’t always a better show.

The opening night held onto most of their enthusiastic audience, and I suspect that following performances will trim the show down and share the spotlight a bit more with that evening’s guests.

The Roost Lounge is primarily an queer establishment but we sat across from two seemingly straight ladies from San Diego and after one song, one of the ladies said, “That’s Lerner and Lowe, isn’t it?†— meaning, there’s nothing about the Revue or the room that in any way limits the audience. The drinks and food are enjoyable and quickly served.

photo by Alan Carvalho

The Roost Revue
The Roost Lounge, 68718 E Palm Canyon Drive #203
reviewed August 27, 2025
for tickets, info and more shows, visit The Roost