Michael Feinstein
by Lawrence Ferber
With a career devoted to exalting American Popular
Song, the Columbus, Ohio-born pianist/singer Michael Feinstein
has garnered five Grammy nominations and multiple platinum
records. In 2009 he collaborated with Cheyenne Jackson
on an acclaimed act and CD, “The Power of Two,”
and he recently appeared on Broadway with Aussie drag
diva Dame Edna (aka Barry Humphries) in All About Me.
His second PBS-TV series, Michael Feinstein: Man on a
Mission, will air this year (“It’s a tribute
to classic American music that follows me on my journeys
around the country to preserve, perform, and explore this
music,” he says). He’s also working on a George
Gershwin biopic with DreamWorks, and a Gershwin book,
while his Foundation For The Preservation of American
Popular Music will open its offices in 2011. Married in
2008 to his partner Terrence Flannery—by Judge Judy
no less—Feinstein took a break from tickling the
ivories to regale us in the VIP Lounge.
As a California resident, you were
legally married prior to Prop 8’s passage. How
did it go, and how did Judge Judy get involved?
The wedding was wonderful. Judy’s an old friend,
and she actually encouraged [Terrence] and I to make
it legal. We didn’t feel a particular need to do
it. We felt that until it was [legal] on a national
level, it was lacking in so many privileges and rights,
and we were resistant. We had a change of heart mainly
through her encouragement. Having a wedding in front
of our beloved family and friends was more deeply moving
than we anticipated, and we both found ourselves blind-sided
by the wave of emotion that came from the experience.
If you could take a trip with anyone
in your industry who would it be?
Betty White. She’s so much fun, endlessly
interesting, and someone I’d love to hang out with.
How do you like working with Dame
Edna?
I love it. We’ve known each other for many,
many years. Barry and I met at the home of Roddy McDowell,
who was a dear friend of both of ours, and I met Dame
when I was a guest on The Tonight Show. She turned to
me and started asking questions about obscure songwriters,
so I was quite taken with her.
Dame Edna is from Oz—what are
your thoughts about that country?
Australia is the place I would move if I chose
to leave the USA. In fact, last night I was talking
about having a getaway place there because it’s
extraordinary on so many levels. Audiences are wonderful
and the friendliness of people there is mighty. There’s
a kindness and tremendous appreciation for life that
I adore.
Where is the most far-flung place
you’ve traveled to perform?
Japan. I performed in several cities. I enjoyed
Japan a lot. The architecture is amazing, the sense
of fashion fascinating, and the appreciation for American
music, especially jazz, is intense there. I love going
to the city of Nara because deer roam around the city.
They’re sort of domesticated, so everywhere you
go there are all these gorgeous creatures that are coming
up and nudging you for food.
If you could pay 50 bucks for any
one convenience on a flight, what would it be?
Better food. Vegan food. Great vegetarian or vegan
food, by the chef we use in New York, her name is Rada.
Conventional chefs don’t know how to prepare great
vegetarian food. It usually sucks.
You split your time between L.A.
and New York. What are a few recommendations, aside
from your own namesake nightclub at Loews Regency Hotel,
for visitors to those cities?
Well, in L.A. there’s the Vermont Restaurant.
It’s great and they have a series called Upright
Cabaret. They have fantastic drinks and it’s very
laid-back, very eclectic. In New York I like to go to
Birdland on Monday nights for Jim Caruso’s Cast
Party. You’ll see a cross-section of Broadway and
Hollywood stars and newcomers to the city who want to
be heard for the first time. It’s really an open
mic night with dazzling entertainment and everyone,
from Tony Bennett to Liza Minnelli, has shown up. Another
thing to do on a Monday night is, if you like big band
jazz, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks at Sofia’s
Restaurant in the Edison Hotel. I [also] like to hear
Loston Harris play at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel.
He’s one of the greatest pianists of any generation
and a talented singer.
Tell us something about Cheyenne
Jackson that we might not know.
He can guess what brand of underwear you’re
wearing very accurately. He just has this innate ability
to discern things about people that you would not think
would be readily discernable. He’s fantastic. We
had so much fun that we repeated our show in Palm Springs
recently. We’re hoping to do more dates next year
after my Broadway stint.
What’s your number one travel
tip?
Planning plenty of time for the actual physical
travel. More time than you think it’s going to
take. If you’re there an hour earlier than you
need to be at an airport or location, you’ve probably
saved yourself a lot of stress. And when flying, it’s
essential to drink lots and lots of water and take Vitamin
C. I bring packets of Emergen-C effervescent vitamin
C. Each packet is 1,000 milligrams, and I take one per
[every] hour I fly, which keeps me from getting dehydrated
and makes a big difference in overcoming jetlag.
[Published:
May, 2010]
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