Kim David Smith

I had the pleasure of seeing Kim David Smith at the Top of the Pines in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was the first time I saw him perform, and like everyone else there, want to see him again.

Reading Kim’s website gives you a great idea of his range and successes. Described by Broadway World as the "David Bowie of cabaret," "slyly subversive" by the Wall Street Journal, and labeled the "male Marlene Dietrich" by the New York Times.  Kim participated in Carnegie Hall’s 2024 season'-long programme “Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Edge of a Precipice," with a musical tour through Weimar-era works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (as part of the museum’s “Artists on Artworks” series), and served as emcee and principal vocalist for Death of Classical’s “Tiergarten,” in a co-production with Carnegie Hall.

Smith debuted Kim Sings Kylie, his musical salute to fellow Australian Kylie Minogue, at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater on 25 June 2018 for New York City Pride. Kim Sings Kylie performed in Sydney, Australia at the inaugural Sydney Cabaret Festival in July 2019.”

Until you see Kim in person you can’t totally appreciate his talent. In Rehoboth he performed his Marlene Dietrich show, ‘Mostly Marlene.’  He was accompanied by his longtime musical collaborator Tracy Stark on the piano. She herself is an honored musician. Here is a sample set list of the songs he performs. It includes: Black Market (Friedrich Hollaender), Ich Bin die Fresche Lola (Friedrich Hollaender), In Your Eyes/Slow (Kylie Minogue), Jonny, Wenn du Geburtstag Hast/Erotica (Friedrich Hollaender, Madonna), Padam Padam (Kylie Minogue), Look Me Over Closely (Terry Gilkyson), The Man’s in the Navy (Friedrich Hollaender, Frank Loesser), Boys in the Back Room (Friedrich Hollaender, Frank Loesser),Lili Marlene (Norbert Schultze), Kabarett (Kander & Ebb), All the Lovers (Kylie Minogue), Falling in Love Again (Friedrich Hollaender), Just a Gigolo (Leonello Casucci), and Nature Boy (Eden Abez). As you can tell from this set list, Kim is a very versatile performer.

His upcoming schedule includes performing Halloween cabarets at the Neue Galerie in New York October 30 and 31 and he will return to Club Cumming, Friday, December 13 with ‘A Wery Weimar Christmas (note the spelling of “Wery”!), his annual holiday show. Tickets are available for those of you who will be in New York. 

In chatting with Kim after his Rehoboth show, I found out he has never performed in DC and that is sad for the cabaret lovers of DC. I think any booking agent should take a look, and not miss out on the chance to book him for his inaugural DC show.