Rrazz Room impresarios Rory Paull and Robert Kotonly flank diva CeCe Peniston (Photo: Pat Johnson)

Last Wednesday night, a most eclectic constellation twinkled in the San Francisco night.  The Rrazz Room at the Hotel Nikko, perhaps the United States’ most adventurously booked boîte, celebrated its 4th anniversary with a benefit for St. Jude’s Hospital for Children. The evening’s “Whoa, how the heck are these acts gonna share a stage?” kind of lineup proved utterly successful. It reflected the wide-ranging tastes of Rrazz owner-impresarios Robert Kotonly and Rory Paull, long loathe to have their club perceived as a ‘cabaret’ with all the attendant stereotypes of dowager princesses downing too many expensive martinis to the songbook standards of their faded youth.

While the Rrazz’s quirkily curated booking calendar always incorporates some of same great interpreters of song who ply their trade at Manhattan’s Carlyle, Feinstein’s, and the late-lamented Algonquin Oak Room (Tyne Daly, Betty Buckley and Amanda McBroom have all played the intimate 186 seat room over the past couple seasons), Kotonly and Paull cast a much wider net. Well-regarded soul, R&B, gospel, comedy, jazz, burlesque and drag acts are a regular part of the offerings, as are some of the Bay Area’s best local talent—fortunate to have the chance to perform in such a jewel box of a venue.

Natalie Douglas, a sublime interpreter of song (Photo: Pat Johnson)

And so, last Thursday’s highlights swung like a drunken metronome from Edna Wright—spark plug sister of Darlene Love—belting “Want Ads,” a 1970 hit with her group, The Honey Cone; to local percussion legend Pete Escovedo and his sons pounding out a volcanic set of Latin jazz; to CeCe Peniston riling up the crowd with her dance club classic “Finally”; to a revelatory rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Natalie Douglas, who deserves to be a household name.

More on the anniversary gala, and Rrazz room April highlights after the jump 

There was also Rat Packery of the retro and nouveau schools: Dean Martin’s daughter Deana representing the former, and the handsome young gimmick of the singing Nunziata Twins representing the latter. Freda “Band of Gold” Payne was in  stunningly good voice and shockingly preserved face. And Linda Lavin—just weeks from opening on Broadway in Nicky Silver’s acid comedy the Lyons—successfully modeled a pair of eye-popping sequined pants while performing a few amusingly Yiddishe shuffle-sung numbers (Of course she sings! Don’t you remember the theme song from Alice?).

Broadway-bound Linda Lavin brought the big name glamor (Photo: Pat Johnson)

Overall, the Rrazziversary was a joyful, eccentric hoot of an evening, as diverse and delightful as our city. A city that, I suspect, doesn’t quite realize how lucky it is to have a nightspot like this one.

The next few weeks at the Rrazz epitomize the variety of the club’s bookings. Among the highlights:

Russell Thompkins Jr. and The New Stylistics April 1.  True dat: 1970s Philly Soul gets John and I all melty and misty. “You Are Everything,” “Betcha By Golly Wow,” “You Make Me Feel Brand New.” Call the swoon patrol!

Steven Brinberg April 3,4. Call him an impersonator, an illusionist, a drag act. Whatevuh! He’s the only way you’ll ever see Barbra Streisand this close up.

The Thunder from Down Under April 15. The flip side of Brinberg. A stress reliever after doing your taxes. The Aussie Bum rush.

See the full Rrazz calendar here. And keep reading the San Francisco Agenda for regular updates on the happenings at our favorite den of swank.