Tomfoolery
Reviewed by David Kashimba
Photo by Eric Chazankin

 Tomfoolery, now playing at Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater, is a musical tribute to satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer. Very popular in the 1950’s and 60’s, Lehrer wrote such fun songs as Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, The Masochism Tango, The Vatican Rag and The Elements. Nothing was sacred to Lehrer’s satirical wit and Cinnabar’s fine cast pulls out all the stops as they present Lehrer’s songs and paint a picture of Lehrer’s unique character.

Lehrer majored in math at Harvard, earning a masters degree. He worked at Baird Atomic in Cambridge until he was drafted into the Army in 1955 and served two years active duty. His military service inspired a number of satirical songs about war like one predicting the nostalgia for WWIII and It Makes a Fellow Proud to be a Soldier.

Even though he continued writing songs his entire life, his first love was teaching. Though he preferred teaching to show business, it didn’t stop him from writing some fun songs inspired by his first love. Of course the inspiration went both ways, because he gave many lectures at the University of California at Santa Cruz on the American musical and the nature of math.

As entertaining as Lehrer is; Cinnabar’s fine cast including Krista Wigle, Elly Lichenstein, Eric Morris, Michael Fontaine and musical director Stuart Rabinowitsh; turn it into a wonderful cabaret experience that will keep you singing and laughing for days after the show.

For tickets or more information call 707-763-8920 or visit www.cinnabartheater.org.

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