CABARET / VOICEOVER

Cabaret Beginnings (2013–2014)

Early solo cabaret performances that eventually led to the creation of Hell-Bent for Leather.

WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

Michael "Big Daddy" Pacas explores the complex, tense (but often hilarious) relationships between children of all ages and their fathers. Take a "family vacation" buzzing down an eclectic roadway of standards, pop and unearthed comic treasures!

"Musical theater folk don’t always get cabaret, but, in his debut show, Michael Pacas gets it and then some. The theme of Who’s Your Daddy? is, not surprisingly, fathers. Pacas found a variety of “daddy” songs, from the reflective “Daddy’s Shoulders” (by Amanda Green, Adolph’s daughter) to the funny “I’m Terrible” (Jamie Broza) about the rantings of a two-year-old who destroys his teddy bear and needs to be seen and not heard. “Little Man, You’ve Had a Busy Day,” was written by Mabel Wayne, Al Hoffman and Maurice Sigler back in 1934, but it works just fine in 2013 as a father’s expression of love. “Way Ahead of My Time” (Peter Mills), about a gay caveman, requires precise timing to land the word-play jokes. Pacas rolls it out with aplomb. He offered a remarkable and unusual delivery of Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle,” telling about the journey from the matter-of-fact to disappointment to epiphany. The sing-along to “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” was just right. Pacas doesn’t over-sing and his voice fits the storyteller aspect of cabaret. He is graceful and expressive on stage. Keep your eye on this cabaret rookie."

Carla Gordon
Cabaret Scenes
May 20, 2013
www.cabaretscenes.org

I'M TERRIBLE by Jamie Broza

LULLABY by Stephen Lynch

BIG N' EASY!

Enjoy a decadent evening of Southern Bawdiness and Beads with Michael "Big Daddy" Pacas and Music Director Mark Burnell as they ladle out a spicy Louisiana gumbo of jazz, blues, pop and unearthed comic treasures.

"Michael Pacas salutes his native New Orleans in a gumbo of genres in the quite entertaining Big Easy. He’s is a hoot with the double entendre of “Hot Nuts” (“…ten cents a bag”) then gentle with “Mr. Bojangles.” When the music asks “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?”, no doubt that Pacas does. Pairing (Johnny Mercer and Alfred Opler’s) “While We Danced at the Mardi Gras” with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “This Nearly Was Mine” enabled Pacas to flex his increasingly confident vocal chops along with his actor’s interpretive chops in these two songs encompassing memory and regret. He shines at finding unusual cabaret material, which makes his shows especially engaging. Examples include “The Legend of Evangeline and Gabriel,” touching on the history of the Acadians, later to become known as “Cajuns” and “The Tennessee Williams (Southern Decadence) Blues ” sports a grand satirical lyric—the Tennessee/Hennessey rhyme is golden. Mark Burnell is an especially good choice for musical director in this jazz-spiced show. Closing with all joining in for “When the Saints Go Marching In,” Pacas includes some Dixieland riffs on the euphonium. It’s just right."