Food & Wine: “Now on stage: Cheese, hilarious cheese”—USA Today

If you’ve lost your appetite for dinner theater over the years, maybe it’s time to ease back into the genre of nibbles theater.

Jackie Gordon, who bills herself as “The Singing Chef,” has just opened a one-woman, interactive cabaret show called sayCheese! at the Laurie Beechman Theater in the basement of the West Bank Cafe in New York. During the 90-minute performance/lesson, Gordon conveys her passion for wine and cheese through humorous patter, slides, original songs and cabaret classics while the audience samples and rates pairings such as California Cabernet and artisanal cheddar.

Sample lyric from her show

“If I could Date Cheese”:

“I’m just so grateful I kept a straight face when that Kraft Single asked me out. I know that you’re mild-mannered and you melt evenly, but that ain’t the stuff that’s gonna sate my fromage fantasies.”

The idea couldn’t sound any cheesier, but that’s the point, say Gordon. “Everyone has jumped on the cheese bandwagon over the last 10 years, so the idea is to help consumers become pickier.”

The show ($60, including eight cheeses and four wines) plays twice a week through June 11. Information: www.ticketcentral.com; 212-279-4200