Rodger Schmelzer – Courtesy of Kevin Alvey. Used with permission.
There are few, in any, local performers who can claim a mentor, much less a dear friend, like legendary singer Marilyn Maye, but singer Roger Schmelzer holds that treasured distinction. And no one was more pleased than Maye when she heard he booked his show, “Heart & Soul,” at Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael in Carmel. Playing one night only on Friday October 1, the show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Roger Schmelzer Courtesy of NCIGF. Used with permission.
Schmelzer has performed in cabaret venues all over the country since 2005. Husband to Cindy Phillips, an actor and arts patron, the couple have two have two sons and a daughter, as well as two granddaughters. In a recent Zoom call, Schmelzer filled me in on the upcoming show, his friendship with Maye and other topics. “The show is about having hope,” he said. “It’s about focusing on the things you can control in life. Focusing on things that work, whatever they are, and taking the long view of the world.” When asked if these reflections might have stemmed from his experience during the pandemic, he said, “Quite a bit. There was so much that was out of control and still is, and the thing I have to keep coming back to is what I have to do to get through every day with my family to help them. I cannot tackle the world’s problems, but I can handle my life and the people I care about. You’ve got to be hopeful, be as optimistic as you can be, and when you are thrown a curve, you have to face it when it comes to you. You just can’t live in fear of it.”
Schmelzer will be accompanied by his New York-based pianist-music director Jeff Harris. “I’ll sing a song I did at Carnegie Hall two years ago, ‘I Won’t Dance’ by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Field is on the list and so is ‘Fallin’’ from ‘They’re Playing Our Song,’” he said. “We are also doing some Cole Porter songs, including ‘I Concentrate on You,’ ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin,’ and of course, Indiana native son Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Heart and Soul,’ among others.”
L-R Marilyn Maye & Rodger Schmelzer. Courtesy of Cindy Phillips. Used with permission.
Explaining how he and Harris have tweaked the show since its first iteration under the direction of Maye, Schmelzer told me how it was he became close to her. Around eight years ago in St. Louis, he went to a cabaret convention and she was one of the instructors. He sang the song “Fallin’” in her workshop, after which he said, “She was poised to write notes, but as I began to sing the song, she put her pen down, took a breath, and just looked at me.” From that point on, “We connected and have been friends and professional colleagues ever since.”
In terms of what the 93-year-old entertainer represents as an artist, Schmelzer elaborated, “Marilyn is up there like the Mount Rushmore of leaders and that may seem a strange way to describe an artistic person. She is very charismatic for one, but does not flaunt her charisma. She just comes into a room and takes control of it, but she takes care of you. It is a pretty scary thing to get up in front of an audience and sing and she makes you believe you can do it.”
The benefits of his relationship with Maye have extended to his booking at Feinstein’s, according to Schmelzer, who said that Maye, who herself headlined there in late July, recommended him to the club’s booker, who later told him, “She brags about you,” before offering him a date on the calendar.
L-R Rodger Schmelzer & Jeff Harris – Courtesy of Kevin Alvey. Used with permission.
Schmelzer, a 64-year-old attorney who splits his time as an insurance executive and cabaret performer, calls his Feinstein’s gig an enormous opportunity. The pandemic wreaked havoc on the schedules, not to mention livelihoods, of entertainers everywhere, and he was no exception. “2020 was going to be the year that I was going to have my professional track. I was also going to have an avocational/professional track with music, so I had three or four shows planned in 2020, all of which had to go by the wayside.” As for his Feinstein’s booking, he said, “It’s beyond words truly. This is a real step forward for me and it is very exciting to be viewed as somebody who can perform in that space. To be a local person, who I like to think, has a national profile to some degree. It is a real vote of confidence. It is humbling and very exciting.”
Besides Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Robert Goulet, whom he met backstage at Starlight Musicals when he was nine years old, Schmelzer counts Michael Feinstein as one of his main musical influences. Like Maye, Feinstein has also become a friend and colleague. Schmelzer has served on the renowned entertainer’s board of The Great American Songbook Foundation since 2016 and is currently its chair. “Michael Feinstein is a gentleman’s gentleman. We could all learn from his even-keeled approach to everything,” he exclaimed.
Saying he was drawn to the cabaret art form because of its intimacy and opportunity for connection with others, Schmelzer said, “The show is for the audience, not for me, and it is an awesome feeling to experience that connection in real time,” As for what he hopes the audience takes away from it, he said, “First, for everyone to have fun, but on a deeper level, I hope folks leave with a sense of hope and possibility for the future.”
Tickets and information about Roger Schmelzer’s show “Heart & Soul” at Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael, visit feinsteinshc.com.
