DatebookSan Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Thursday, May 2, 2013 | Section E

Jon Carroll: Howbrave is this new world,anyway? E6

By Jesse Hamlin

Michael Feinstein, the celebrated croonerwhose career took off at the old Plush Room onSutter Street in the early 1980s — a golden age forcabaret in this music-mad town — was backMonday night, swinging “Luck Be a Lady” in theHotel Nikko nightclub that now bears his name.

“It’s so great to be back home,” the beamingshowman told a packed house of invited guests.“This is where it all started. This city made mydreams come true.”

A passionate performer and proponent of theGreat American Songbook, Feinstein will spenda lot more time in the city now that he’s a partnerin Feinstein’s at the Nikko, the intimate 140-seatboite formerly called the Rrazz Room. He willplay there four times a year, as well as consultingon the bookings with John Iachetti, the guy whoprogrammed the singer’s Manhattan club, Fein-stein’s at the Loews Regency. It closed in Decem-ber after 14 years when the hotel shut down for

renovation. The Rrazz Room folded after New Year’s Eve

when the owners lost their lease. The ownerstook the sound system and opened another spotcalled Live at the Rrazz in the old Cadillac show-

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Michael Feinstein’s new club, Feinstein’s at the Nikko, opens in the Hotel Nikko spot vacated by the Rrazz Room.

CABARET

A chorus of venues, voices. Can it last?Life is a you-know-what, old chum, as clubs vie for audiences

Cabaret continues on E2

Robert Sokol, Baystages editor, and MarilynLevinson, of Bay Area Cabaret, at Feinstein’s.

Beck Diefenbach / Special to The Chronicle

A mediocre restaurant re-view can get a chef axed. It canprompt menu changes. Some-times, it’s probably even con-tributed to a restaurant’s even-tual closure.

But to have a restaurant com-pletely change concepts the dayafter a subpar review? Now thatmight be a first.

Yet that’s exactly what hap-pened with Hutong (2030Union St.), the revamped ver-sion of Cow Hollow mainstayBetelnut. The Chronicle’sMichael Bauer reviewed Hu-tong last weekend (sfg.ly/13KfokM), essentially remark-ing that while chef AlexanderOng’s food was still pretty good,it was hard to understand whyowners Real Restaurants madethe sudden change two monthsago.

This week, Hutong manage-ment came to a similar conclu-sion, and in a shocking movethat somehow managed tosurpass their earlier surprise of

closing Betelnut in the firstplace, they decided to switchback to their original concept.

If you call the restauranttoday, the Betelnut name isalready back in action.

The “new” menu will be acombination of dishes fromBetelnut and Hutong, and Ongremains the chef. A fair amountof the Betelnut decor will alsobe brought back.

Bill Higgins of Real Restau-rants — which also runs pop-ular restaurants like Bix, BarBocce and Picco, among others— says the review reiterated thesentiments from many custom-ers who missed the classicBetelnut hits.

In many ways, the movereinforces the “if it ain’t broke,don’t fix it” maxim, but at thesame time, it highlights thequandary that many restau-rants find themselves in whenthey become trapped by pop-ular menu items.

“The correct thing to do islisten to what everyone, not just

Lucchesi continues on E3

Betelnutreturns inrecord time

PAOLOLUCCHESI The Inside Scoop

John Storey / Special to The Chronicle

Hutong’s black-pepper eggnoodles remains on the menu.

most talked-about shows ofthe past year. Unless the as-yet-unknown fifth show isanother repeat booking, it’salso remarkably free of reruns,making this potentially themost exciting season SHN hashosted in some time. The lasttwo seasons were top-heavywith such perennials as “TheLion King,” “Wicked,” “JerseyBoys” and “Les Misérables,”particularly after the cancella-tion of the pre-Broadway pre-miere of Sheryl Crow andBarry Levinson’s musical“Diner” (after extensive work-shops in New York, that showis now expected to open onBroadway in the fall).

“Beautiful — the Carole

By Robert Hurwitt

A world premiere by CaroleKing and the start of the na-tional tour of “The Gershwins’Porgy and Bess” headline the2013-14 SHN season an-nounced Wednesday by SHNPresident Carole ShorensteinHays. The season also includesthe multiple-Tony-winning“Once” and “Peter and theStarcatcher” (a fifth show willbe named later), but subscrib-ers also get first dibs on ticketsto Shorenstein Hays’ other bigannouncement — the non-season return of the smash hit“The Book of Mormon” in thefall.

It’s a promising lineup,including three of New York’s

THEATER

SHN season featuresCarole King premiere

O&M Co.

“Peter and the Starcatcher,” the “Peter Pan” prequel, arrives at the Curran Theater on Nov. 5.The show returned to off-Broadway after last year’s Broadway run with the cast shown here. SHN continues on E2

E2 | Thursday, May 2, 2013 | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com

PUZZLE ANSWERSToday’s CrosswordCrossword Puzzle

Sudoku Puzzle Challenger Chess

1. … Qa2ch! 2. Kg1 Rxh3 [Seyb-Paehtz ’13].

Yoshi’s in San Francisco,where it cost $32 to hearWest last fall. Ticketswere $22 to last month’ssold-out Yoshi’s show bythe rising singer-song-writer Spencer Day.

With Yoshi’s in Oak-land focusing primarilyon jazz, the San Franciscobranch is staying afloatthese days booking aneclectic mix of artists —from the Cowboy Junkies,bluesman Booker T. Jonesand folkie Shawn Colvinto singers like West andWhitfield, who appeal tojazz and cabaret crowds.Then there’s the newSFJazz Center, whereGerman cabaret star UteLemper played to apacked house last month,and where West performs

with her quartet in the99-seat Joe HendersonLab on May 18 and 19,after a private gig forWilkes Bashford’s birth-day.

Some on the scenewonder if there’s enoughof an audience here to fillthese venues week afterweek, with money stillpretty tight, prices risingand competition from allforms of entertainment.West isn’t one of them.

“I think all these clubscan survive, as long asthey maintain a certainquality, because theyprovide different musicfor different tastes,” saidthe singer. She was gettingready to fly to New York tosing at a Jerome Kerntribute at the 92nd StreetY. Later this month she

room on Van Ness Ave-nue. But they immedi-ately ran afoul of fellowtenants and the city’sEntertainment Commis-sion over soundproofingissues. After presentingonly a handful of perfor-mances, including PattiLupone in March, theycanceled shows andclosed the place lastmonth.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko,which has a fine newsound system and newYamaha grand piano,officially opens May 8with a four-night run bythe Tony-winning singingactress and dancer SuttonFoster.

Some of the high-cali-ber artists who appearedat the old Rrazz — whereBroadway legend BarbaraCook and the prime SanFrancisco singers PaulaWest and Wesla Whitfieldwere part of a loose mixthat included drag acts,blues belters and beefcakeshows — will also appearat Feinstein’s. But theprices are steeper. WhenCook played the Rrazzlast summer, tickets were$55-$75; the tickets for hershow at Feinstein’s nextmonth are $90-$115. Fos-ter’s shows are $70-$95.

Because those pricesinclude a $30 food anddrink credit in the club orin the hotel restaurant,“we feel the value, cou-pled with the flexibility ofwhere patrons can use thefood and beverage credit,will enhance the overallexperience,” said NikkoGeneral Manager AnnaMarie Presutti. The roomwas refurbished with 35fewer seats, she added,making it more comfort-able.

Less than the operaFeinstein’s will still cost

less than a good opera seator a Rolling Stones ticket,but more than the cover at

performs on a Jazz atLincoln Center tribute tocabaret master BobbyShort, hosted by Fein-stein.

“I’m lucky enough toplay cabaret and jazzrooms,” said West, whostarted singing in SanFrancisco bars and res-taurants in the late ’80s,when all the big hotelshad live music in the lob-by and singers and pia-nists could hone theircraft night after night. “Ifsomeone is just doingpure cabaret, that’s reallyhard. There are not a lot ofoptions for you in SanFrancisco.”

She’s glad Feinstein hasstepped in. Her relationswith Rrazz owners RobertKotonly and Rory Paull,she noted, were not al-ways collegial, a senti-ment also expressed byother musicians.

Feinstein never caughta show at the old RrazzRoom but heard goodthings about the space. Hesaid he was sorry to hearLive at Rrazz closed. Itwas still open when heand his team first ap-proached the Nikko aboutopening a Feinstein’shere.

“My philosophy hasalways been there’senough room for every-body. Everyone has aspecific point of view andway to present a perform-er,” said Feinstein, talkingby phone from his Man-hattan townhouse lastweek (he was singing thatnight at the Duke Elling-ton tribute at Jazz at Lin-coln Center). He’s foundanother spot for his NewYork club, but declined todiscuss it before the dealis inked.

“Every place is unique.One of the things I loveabout San Francisco, theplace ‘Beach BlanketBabylon’ was birthed, isthat people demand en-tertainment that is notonly more diverse but

unique to the context ofSan Francisco.”

Feinstein’s “will evolve.I want it to be evocative ofclassic nightclubs, butcontemporary. Someonelike Sutton Foster is agreat performer of theclassics, but also has agood deal of contempo-rary material in her act.We want to present talentthat will show the ever-evolving nature of musicand society.”

The nightclub experi-ence, he went on, “is moresoul-baring on a certainlevel than other situa-tions. People are as in-terested in personalityand the overall experienceas they are in a specificmusic. Which is whysomebody like MabelMercer had an extraordi-nary career even thoughshe had no voice, because

she conveyed a certaintruthfulness that peoplecraved.”

He hears that honestyin the singing of Whit-field, whom he brought tothe San Francisco Sym-phony Pops years ago andwhom he’d like to hear atFeinstein’s. She and herhusband and pianist,Mike Greensill, were inthe crowd Monday night,digging the music and thenew vibe of the room.

‘Lovely club’“It’s a lovely club. The

more the merrier,” saidGreensill, a jovial En-glishman who’s happy toget any decent gig in theselean times.

“Showbiz is in the pitsat the moment, but we’rekeeping our heads abovewater and enjoying life,”said the pianist, who will

perform with Whitfield,Frederica von Stade andothers at the OaklandEast Bay Symphony’sDave Brubeck tributeJune 1.

He and Whitfield havealso been talking to an-other San Francisco hotel,unnamed, that’s consider-ing opening its own caba-ret in the coming months.

The Rrazz guys, mean-while, say they may re-emerge.

“We are negotiatingnow with several loca-tions and looking at dif-ferent options,” Kotonlysaid by e-mail. “The out-pouring of public encour-agement has convinced usto soldier on.”

Jesse Hamlin is a Bay Areafreelance writer. E-mail:datebookletters@sfchronicle.com

Beck Diefenbach / Special to The Chronicle

Michael Feinstein performs Monday at an invitation-only concert at his club,Feinstein’s at the Nikko, scheduled to open officially next Wednesday.

Feinstein’s back —competition heats upCabaret from page E1

“There’s enoughroom for every-body. Everyonehas a specific …way to present aperformer.”Michael Feinstein

King Musical,” whichhas already generatedconsiderable buzz, isscheduled to open onBroadway in spring 2014.The world premiere thatbegins previews at theCurran Theatre on Sept.24 features a book byscreenwriter DouglasMcGrath (“Emma,” “Bul-lets Over Broadway”)and a cavalcade of hitsby King and her firsthusband, Gerry Goffin,as well as by Barry Mannand Cynthia Weil.

Part bio, part jukeboxmusical, the show tracesthe singer’s life fromchildhood as CaroleKlein in Brooklyn,through her early suc-cesses with Goffin —reportedly with repli-cations of performancesby the Shirelles, Righ-teous Brothers, Animals,Drifters and others — tofinding her own voicewith her blockbusteralbum “Tapestry.”

“Peter and the Star-catcher,” the widely ac-claimed “Peter Pan”prequel, which has re-turned to off-Broadwayafter last year’s Broad-way run, arrives at theCurran on Nov. 5. Imag-inatively staged by RogerRees and Alex Timbers,the Neverland romp wasadapted by Rick Elicefrom the similarly namednovel by Dave Barry andRidley Pearson.

The misnamed “TheGershwins’ Porgy andBess” opens its nationaltour at the Golden GateTheatre in November as

well. Director DianePaulus’ highly praisedand much criticized,Tony-winning remake ofthe beloved classic issomewhat adapted fromthe original. GeorgeGershwin’s immortalscore has been abridgedby composer Diedre L.Murray. Playwright Su-zan-Lori Parks has re-vised DuBose Heyward’sbook and lyrics (co-writ-ten with Ira Gershwin).The tour features Na-thaniel Stampley andAlicia Hall Moran in thetitle roles, with PhillipBoykin of the Broadwaycast as Crown.

The eagerly awaitedreturn of “Mormon” —tickets for its five-weekrun at the Curran soldout within minutes last

year — opens at the endof a very busy Novemberin the much larger Or-pheum Theatre for aneight-week visit. Thoughnot part of the SHN sea-son, tickets for “Mor-mon” are available onlyto renewing currentsubscribers or to newsubscribers beginningJune 3. Tickets for non-subscribers will go onsale at a later time.

After a long hiatus, the

Tony best musical win-ner “Once” opens in June2014 at the Curran.Adapted by Irish play-wright Enda Walsh fromthe popular low-budgetIrish film by John Car-ney, the offbeat hit is analmost-romance betweenIrish and Czech mu-sicians, told through thesongs of Glen Hansardand Markéta Iglová, whowrote the score (and playthe roles in the movie).John Tiffany (“BlackWatch”) directs.

Information aboutsubscriptions is availableat (888) 746-1799 or www.shnsf.com.

Robert Hurwitt is The SanFrancisco Chronicle’stheater critic. E-mail:rhurwitt@sfchronicle.com

SHN season features Carole King, ‘Porgy and Bess’

Joan Marcus

After a long hiatus, “Once,” a multiple Tony winner, including the award forbest musical, opens in June 2014 at the Curran.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Carole King’s bio is featured in “Beautiful — theCarole King Musical,” which will be at the Curran.

SHN from page E1

It’s a promisinglineup, potentiallythe most excitingseason SHN hashosted in sometime.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT