Hearing Aaron Valentine’s rich, piercing vocals on a medley of A Chorus Line’s “Music and the Mirror” (Marvin Hamlisch, Ed Kleban) and Glee’s “Let Me Be Your Star” (Marc Shaiman, Scott Whitman) near the top of his recent show at Don’t Tell Mama, Who Are You Again? Learning to Sing Through Life, it’s easy to see how he became the 2025 Mama’s Next Big Act winner. This show, directed by Lennie Watts and music directed by Tracy Stark, was one of the prizes for winning the competition. A bit later Shaiman and Whitman’s “Riding Out the Storm” (from Some Like It Hot) offered a tsunami of emotion, matching the intensity of his vocals to the romantic tumult of the number. Taken one or two at a time, this material would certainly be impressive.
Aaron Valentine
Unfortunately, that intensity quickly becomes the order of the day. There is a sameness to Valentine’s attack and delivery (that would be big) that keeps his performance at a distance from the audience. His is a loud, sometimes forced, sound that somehow resembles an opera singer unsuccessfully trying to sing pop songs. He is performing but he is not really communicating. I heard him hit notes and phrase words, but simple, honest communication was in short supply. I wanted less volume and more storytelling.
The dramatic moments were too often overwrought, and the comedic elements were hit so hard their humor was buried in bombast. The latter was especially disappointing because the singer supplied some potentially funny rewrites in the show, especially in a medley of Sondheim’s “Waiting for the Girls Upstairs” (from Follies) and Cabaret’s “Maybe This Time” (John Kander, Fred Ebb) that would have worked well with a lighter touch. Throughout, song after song blurred together.
The show as written did little to rescue the singer from the delivery problems. It is yet one more cabaret act tracking the progress of a singer through shows and gigs and focusing on being a performer and trying to make it. There are so many similar endeavors popping up that one can almost just plug in different schools, shows, contests, and songs; it’s the same show over and over. A singer should consider that their show will be viewed by an audience of strangers—strangers to the performer and strangers to cabaret. Most “civilians” have little or no interest in “process.” Sure, there will be other performers in the audience who will get it all, who will identify with the most arcane situation, with every “in” phrase like “16-bar cut,” or having a punchline of “Ripley-Greer Studios,” or a declaration like “the thing about being an artist.” But what about everybody else?
I don’t need to be told where or with whom a performer studied; I want to be aware of their talent and their past by the success of their presentation of songs that involve and enlighten and entertain me. Aaron Valentine possesses the promise and the talent to do just that. I wish his show had offered him more of an opportunity to do so.
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Presented at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St., NYC, April 17, 19, 30, and May 2, 2026.
Gerry Geddes, critic for BistroAwards.com, is an award-winning director, writer, teacher, performer, lyricist, and a contributor to the podcast Troubadours and Raconteurs. He conceived and directed the acclaimed musical revues Monday in the Dark with George (Bistro and MAC Award winner), Put on Your Saturday Suit—Words & Music by Jimmy Webb, and Gerry Geddes & Company (in its five-year residency at Pangea). He has directed singers André De Shields, Darius de Haas, Helen Baldassare, and Lisa Viggiano. He has been active in the cabaret world for over five decades and has produced numerous CDs; his lyrics have been performed and recorded here and in Europe. Gerry’s workshop, The Art of Vocal Performance, is regularly offered to singers of all levels. His memoir of life in NYC, Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?, was recently published and is available at barnesandnoble.com. He is currently at work on his first novel.
