Considering that cabaret has a reputation for being an entertainment genre peopled with…let’s say seasoned performers and audiences, it’s always a terrific surprise when someone in the blush of youth shows up to take a dip in the talent pool. But when it’s someone who can navigate the cabaret stage with an abundance of energy, authority, and poise, that’s a real Eureka moment.
Ethan Mathias, age 16, is such a someone. Watching the third performance of his recent Don’t Tell Mama debut, Outside the Lines, I felt myself one moment thinking, “Damn, he’s good for someone his age,” and the next moment emending that to “Damn, he’s good.” (Full stop.)
Ethan Mathias(Photo: Hannah Jane)
It seems this young man has absorbed components of the craft that take other performers years to get a handle on. It’s not just an understanding of what the attractions and conventions of cabaret are, it’s also the ability to take that understanding and zip down the runway with it, then lift off the ground and pilot the whole thing for an hour-long flight—aware, certainly, of any turbulence or poor visibility on the horizon, but powered by the will to land his passengers safely, whatever turns up.
Still, it’s shocking when you hear Mathias say something like, “I’ve loved the musical Fun Home my whole life,” and you realize that, yep, that musical debuted Off Broadway when he was about three years old.
Mathias has a clarion baritone voice, one that can handle moments of musical gravitas. But he acknowledged in this show that when his voice changed at about age 12, it created quite a stir, emanating from such a small fellow.
Lennie Watts directed Outside the Lines, with Tracy Stark onboard as musical director. They helped Mathias create a show that suits him well, showcasing his various talents. He playfully took on an American Songbook favorite, the Gershwin brothers’ “They All Laughed,” having fun with all the “ha-ha-ha’s” and the “hee-hee-hee’s.” He accompanied himself nicely on the piano while singing Ben Folds’ lament “Fred Jones Pt. 2,” about a new retiree who is “forgotten and not yet gone.” He duetted with Hannah Jane on a “friends” mashup (with songs from the Beatles and Carole King). He paid tribute to Elvis with “The Wonder of You” (Baker Knight), managing not to chortle when he signed off with a mumbly, Presley-esque “Thank you very much.” And he went deep for a lovely take on Jason Robert Brown’s timely “Hope.”
The show succeeded in part because it allowed Mathias to be a kid—and yet, it didn’t treat him like one. A song like Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s “Along the Way,” with its angsty adolescent concern about not measuring up, was a logical choice. But I am so glad he also took a gamble by singing “Dust and Ashes” (Dave Malloy) from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, a powerful song written for a grown man: a Tolstoyan character, one tested by life and facing up to his shortcomings. Mathias sang it robustly, with great authority, his voice resounding. It made me imagine what kind of singer/actor he might be at 20, at 40, at 60, once he has buffed and polished away any rough spots from the facets of his talent. And yet…no. Hearing him sing this song with his remarkable 16-year-old skill set was just right for now. He may not yet be seasoned, but he knows plenty about the seasonings.
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Presented at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St., NYC, April 28, May 17, and July 9, 2025.
Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing reviews for BistroAwards.com in 2011. More recently he has contributed "Cabaret Setlist" articles about cabaret repertoire. Other reviews and articles have appeared in theaterscene.net and clydefitchreport.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.
