For years I’ve been telling anyone who cared (and more than a few who didn’t) that one of the wishes I was sending out, into the Universe, was for Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman to get the band back together, as it were, and reunite as Kiki & Herb.  Why?  Because few performers had seared themselves into my psyche as had Bond and Mellman as their alter-egos.  Between their CDs (I can – and do – sing along with every line and song, on both their 2000 Christmas album, Do You Hear What We Hear?, and their 2005 double-album, Kiki & Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall), and live performances (2003’s Coup de Theatre was one of the most memorable theater moments I’ve ever had, and was the only time I can recall vacillating so intensely between hysterically laughter and tears, when I wasn’t off my meds), it's safe to say that I'm a fan.

A few years ago, in the summer of 2013, I wrote a three-part essay entitled “Smith Center Wishes,” in which I listed the acts I’d most like to see at Downtown’s gorgeous Smith Center for the Performing Arts (that had just concluded its first season).  There - ahead of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse (#7), Kate Bush (#6), Elaine Stritch (#5), and The Citizen’s Band (#4) - at #2, wedged in-between Patti LuPone (#3) and Dame Shirley Bassey (#1) was Kiki & Herb.*  Having just reread the article for the first time in a few years, I doubt I could describe my reasoning better than I did, then.  So, here, as it ran in 2013, is what I published:

2. KIKI & HERB: As Kiki DuRane, and her lifelong BFF/pianist, Herb; Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman didn’t just merge cabaret, musical theater, and stand-up – they smashed them together in a sonic clinking of highballs that rained-down upon their fans, in venues ranging from Broadway (where they earned a Tony nom) to Carnegie Hall (where their show was presented by David Foster). The concept of a washed-up lounge singer (according to the backstory, they were actually thrown overboard while performing on a Princess cruise), and her touched accompanist is virtually custom-made for Las Vegas.  From their decidedly cracked Christmas carols (my fave: “People Die (Medley)” – an utterly ill mash-up of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” / “Smells like Teen Spirit” / “Suicide is Painless” / “Miss World”), to their side-splitting comedy about topics including show-business martyrs (the Singing Nun, Marlene Dietrich, and Jesus Christ), to pathos-filled takes on songs ranging from “Love is a Battlefield” (Pat Benatar), “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Joy Division), “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” (Stevie Nicks), “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (Bonnie Tyler), and Bond’s signature rendition of Kate Bush’s “Running Up that Hill” – a song just hasn’t been sung, until it’s been given the Kiki & Herb treatment.  And while the two have gone their separate ways, perhaps a Vegas reunion might be what it takes to get these kids back together.

Fast forward to last September, when New York was abuzz with the word that, after an eight-year hiatus, Bond and Mellman would be reuniting, as part of the retrospective at Joe’s Pub, celebrating Bond’s 25-year career, in a show entitled Kiki & Herb: Seeking Asylum!  As you might’ve guessed, tickets for the show’s run of ten shows sold-out in under an hour (crashing the venue’s website and phones).  Oh well…  Then it was announced in January, that Bond and Mellman had decided to extend the show, and once again, it sold-out. 

Yesterday, upon finalizing plans to be in New York for a few nights, in May. I went to the Joe’s Pub website.  There, below the SOLD OUT banner, in small letters was the following message: Limited amount of VIP tables for 6 available. $1200 includes 6 tickets, a bottle of champagne and limited edition signed posters. To inquire or buy the full VIP table email.  So, I did, and crossed my fingers.  This afternoon, I got a response telling me that there was one VIP table available on one of the three nights I'm in the City.  Suffice it to say, I grabbed it, immediately!  So, I guess it was meant to be. Thanks, Universe, and happy birthday to me!

Kiki & Herb: Seeking Asylum!
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater
April 21st – May 22nd
Click HERE for info

Get into it!
#KikiAndHerb

[Editor’s Note: Since the article was written, Patti LuPone has performed at the Smith Center.  I still stand by this wish-list, and its order; although considering she’s passed away, Elaine Stritch is really a stretch…]

“In 2007, after triumphant successes on Broadway, Carnegie Hall and the International Concert Circuit, cabaret legends Kiki and Herb decided to take a break from the grind of live performance and touring in order to explore more mainstream opportunities in film, television, and journalism which ultimately culminated in a brief stint as Middle East correspondents for Al Jazeera. Having recently been released from undisclosed locations in Syria and Thailand respectively, Kiki and Herb are anxiously awaiting their return to Joe's Pub with a brand new show Kiki and Herb: Seeking Asylum!” –Teaser on the Joe’s Pub at The Public page at www.PublicTheater.org