Emcee, entertainer makes triumphant return

Proving his status as the ever effervescent and ebullient host of all things art and theater on Long Island, Kyle Petty made a return to the CM Performing Arts Center on Friday, Jan. 4, for a cabaret from “The Kyle Petty Show.”

His first time on the Main Stage, Petty’s show had the talent, humor, and glitter to fill the wide space for a nearly three-hour event.

For those familiar with Petty’s style, his storytelling of heartfelt and humorous occurrences in his life combine a bit of sass with his signature delivery, usually of exasperation.

In a segment of “what’s in the box?,” Long Island theater veteran Barry Johnson was one of the unidentified items and left Petty screeching, “Oooh, it’s squishy!”

The light-heartedness of Petty’s stage presence belies a deep, emotional center that can take a painful story to a higher place.

In one of the most touching performances, Petty, alongside longtime friends and spectacular actors, Laura Laureano and Bobby Peterson, sang “Dance With My Father,” after Petty spoke softly, but strongly, of his at times tempestuous relationship with his own father, who welcomes his identity that involved a love of the Spice Girls at a young age.

Other highlights include Petty’s duet with veteran actress Erica Giglio Pac of “Love is an Open Door,” which Petty quipped was a challenge because Giglio Pac often changed the key of the song without his prior knowledge. Big vocals were on display, but Petty was able to exude the strong and bright friendship that they have.

John Mazzarella, the acclaimed set designer for CMPAC, helped keep the humor up with his hijinks and a cheekily “mean” interpretation of Jeffrey Sanzel whilst performing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” that had the audience in an uproar of laughter.

Serving as music director for the show, Matthew Surico masterfully played the piano accompaniment and also hysterically presented the “what’s in the box” game alongside Mazzarella.

After CMPAC renovated a smaller theater next door to the Main Stage, called the Onyx, in 2016, Petty hosted a spring and summer cabaret in the space as well as a winter special called “A Very Petty Christmas.”