The holy trinity of composers for Laurence O’Keefe, the creator of Bat Boy: The Musical, aren’t quite who you might expect: Billy Joel, Randy Newman, and Stephen Sondheim. But consider this: they’re all piano men with memorable vocabularies. Now does it make sense?
O’Keefe will be making a special two-day appearance in Boston on April 26 and 27, tinkling the ivories in his own Show You a Thing or Two: The Music of Laurence O’Keefe, which Speakeasy Stage is presenting at the Copley Theatre. He’ll be joined by dueling Bat Boys, Devin May (of the New York production) and Miguel Cervantes (who played the role at Speakeasy), as well as the cast of the Boston Bat Boy. Comedian Mo Rocca (The Daily Show) and others will make cameos.
O’Keefe will present work from his entire his career, including the ballad " Sensitive Song. " " It’s sung to an ex-girlfriend, " he says. " I don’t know if she’d agree it was sensitive. " His influences can come from any direction. When he attended a concert of Jerry Herman’s music and heard the elderly composer sing " I’ll Be Here Tomorrow, " he was inspired to write his own version. " I wrote a song for when I’m 70 and there are snide young composers in the audience. It’s called, ‘Fuck you I’m not dead yet.’ I think it’s important that there’s no comma after ‘you.’ The gist of the lyrics are, ‘If you admire me, hire me!’ "
He’ll also perform " The Hemp Song, " which he describes as " a delightful Schoolhouse Rock kind of song. Betsy Ross’s first flag was made out of hemp — most of the first flags were, in fact. That’s a true story. " He pauses for breath. " You can probably tell where I stand on the legalization issue here, but I say, since the Clinton years, the kids are ready for my work. Because since that, there’s very little that hasn’t been discussed on the evening news. "
O’Keefe began his songwriting career in third grade, the same year he decided he hated the work of Tom Lehrer. " I realized this guy was singing every song in the same voice, and every song was the same. " He got his first paid commission in high school: a pair of nuns " wanted me to write an anti-drug song " for kindergarteners through third-graders. Alas, the sisters found the finished product, " Moo, " less than satisfactory. " I may be one of the only people ever to be hit by a nun’s ruler who didn’t attend Catholic school. They thought I was being subversive and rude. " He plans to resurrect the song, which " uses animal noises and audience reaction " for the Boston show.
At the moment he has some 10 separate shows percolating. One of them, Dirty Clown, will star David Shiner (Cirque du Soleil) as " the angry clown who’ll steal some lady’s purse and hit some bald guy on the head with it. He’s from the commedia dell’arte, where you interact with the audience and sense their hostility or love and then turn it to funny ends. "
No topic is too offbeat to be grist for O’Keefe’s mill, but he loathes being considered a parodist, though his biggest hit, " Bat Boy, " was inspired by a headline in the Weekly World News. " I try to find a point in the midpoint of each song when you can surprise the audience and betray their expectations. That’s the opposite of parody in my mind. "
Show You a Thing or Two: The Music of Laurence O’Keefe is presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at the Copley Theater, 225 Clarendon Street, next weekend, April 26 at 8 p.m. and April 27 at 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $35; call (617) 437-7731.
