Three years ago, a young editorial staffer at Broadway Books named Rakesh Satyal (left) got some local press by teaming up with Jonathan Burnham, then the publisher at Miramax Books, for a cabaret show called “Rocky and Johnny,” with Burnham providing piano accompaniment to Satyal’s baritone on an assortment of show tunes and jazz standards. Publishing being the revolving door it is, both performers eventually wound up at HarperCollins—but in his new show, debuting tonight at the Duplex, Satyal (now a full-fledged editor) has the marquee all to himself. Well, okay, if you want to get technical about it, the show’s actually called “Roofies: The Songs of Rufus Wainwright and Fiona Apple.”
“I have always been a dedicated fan of both of these individuals, as I think that they are the most talented songwriters of the present day,” Satyal says, explaining the narrowcast repertoire. “Musically, their oeuvres are strikingly similar, in that they have an affinity for tunes inspired by the Tin Pan Alley era and old jazz standards, but at the same time, they work brilliantly within a modern framework to keep the songs fresh and unique.” That quality enabled him to build a set list around songs that could flow one into the next, and he believes the stripped-down arrangements with Jesse Elder on piano will prove that Wainwright and Apple deserve a place on the great American songbook roster.
So how did Satyal find the time to create and rehearse a new show around his editorial responsibilties? “The people I respect the most are ones who see the enjoyment and practice of their hobbies as non-negotiable,” he says; publishing veterans like Burnham, Jon Karp, or David Ebershoff who make room on their schedules for their creative passions serve as his inspiration. “If anything,” he adds, “it’s a concept that meshes perfectly with publishing, an industry in which it helps to have as wide a viewpoint of art as possible.”