Cabaret performer LT Zerone is taking on a number of roles behind the scenes in his ambitious cabaret “Sex, Love . .. and Somewhere in Between,” Sept. 28 at the Red Room at Society Hill Playhouse.
Zerone is no stranger to cabaret performances, having appeared in various Philadelphia shows as well as putting together a number of one-man productions. But for this show, he is wearing a several hats as he takes on production, marketing and performing.
Zerone said he has the capacity to juggle many responsibilities.
“I’ve always left it to other people,” he said. “But I think I’m more detail-oriented than other people I work with. I’ve been working with other companies doing single numbers. What happened was, 25 years ago, I used to do my own cabaret shows and kind of got out of it. I did mostly choral work and solo singing. Then the bug just kind of bit me when I hit 40. Time for me to take a stab at it again, I had this concept for a show and it came to fruition over the last year or so. I just decided to take it all on myself. This is probably the largest production I’ve done. Normally, I’m the primary singer and I have a pianist. This one has morphed into a whole band behind me.”
“Sex, Love … and Somewhere in Between” explores themes of relationships, both gay and straight, and how they can sometimes be a bit dysfunctional.
Besides Zerone, the cabaret will feature pianist and musical director Rob Blackwell, performance artist Messapotamia Lefae and stand-up comic Susie Hudson.
“A lot of the shows I do center around relationships,” Zerone said. “For me, when I was thinking about the show I thought, in the end, relationships have to do with physical attraction, whether we like to admit it or not. So I wanted to take it more from that raw edge and say, ‘OK, if you want to admit it, it boils down to, there’s sex in here.’ We’ve taken lines that people may say to each other during sex and then we have songs that go with the theme of that expression that interpret it. We also have something that I’ve never done before: We filmed a video to give the audience a laugh at how crazy it is putting a show like this together.”
The cabaret is a one-night-only affair and Zerone says his shows usually sell out.
We asked if he would add additional nights, but Zerone said the show feels more special and spontaneous when it’s a one-time thing.
“When I do my shows, I typically do not do more than one for several reasons,” he said. “It’s a lot to pull together. I find that the energy changes night to night. I like the raw, this is the first take, feel. This is it. You have one night to really sell it.”
LT Zerone & Company Cabaret present “Sex, Love … and Somewhere in Between,” 8 p.m. Sept. 28 in The Red Room at Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. Eighth St. For more information or tickets, call 800-838-3006 or visit sex-love-cabaret.bpt.me.