Joey Infante in "Babalu"

Friday, December 2, 2011 @ Don't Tell Mama

Joey Infante stormed into the smaller room at Don't Tell Mama in NYC with an admirable performance in his show "Babalu".  The audience made up of mostly friends gobbled up everything Joey served.  He opened the show with a short potpourri featuring the Latin favorite "Cumbanchero" to great delight.  However the show needed more of an entrance for Joey... a fan fare... something.

The show featured a nice mix of music from Broadway to Latin.  Joey does not have the most expansive vocal range, but what he does have is heart.  The band under the direction of Barry Levitt was wonderful and the show as a whole was very polished.  I only wished I could have learned just a little more about this charming man.  Maybe at his next offering.

I felt the show needed more of a closer.  As the "closer", Joey sang well the show's title song "Babalu", then disappeard to the back of the house having left the audience waiting for something more, but that "more" never came.   Jillian Laurain credited with the direction should have created a more dynamic opening and more punctuated closing.  However, it was a very engaging evening.