“Café Carly” was the first sellout show at Hey Nonny the week that the club opened in 2018. Carly Stocking’s popular show returns to the Arlington Heights venue for the 22nd time on May 14 with “Café Carly Presents When I Grow Up.”
“I love the shows because they’re very modern cabaret with a very fun and informal feel to them — behind which are Carly’s well-polished organizational and directorial skills,” said Chip Brooks, owner of Hey Nonny. He said “Café Carly” has been performed at the venue more than any other act.
This edition, which is part of Chicago Cabaret Week, will feature singers Carly Stocking, Neil Stratman, and Emily Goldberg, with musical accompaniment by pianist Jeffrey Poindexter and guitarist Tim Hamilton.
Every “Café Carly” has a theme. Stocking chose “When I Grow Up” this time because, “I did a similar theme early on in my cabaret career and now I have grown up,” she said with a laugh. “I also have one of my really good friends Neil in the show. He and I met in high school so I know we have lots of stories and have watched each other grow up for almost 20 years.”
Each singer has chosen numbers that fit their growing-up journey. “We’ll have storytelling with each song to give the audience an idea of why it’s important and what our connection is to it,” Stocking said.
Stocking and Goldberg will duet on a song from the musical “Dear Evan Hansen” — “Does Anybody Have a Map?” Stocking will also sing a song from “Reefer Madness” called “What’s Gonna Happen” and “A Way Back to Then” from the musical “Title of Show.” “Goldberg will also sing a song from “Company” called “Not Getting Married Today,” “which is funny because she got married last year,” Stocking said.
Stratman’s selections will include “Grow Old with Me” by Jason Robert Brown, “Young Love” by Gavin DeGraw, and “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Poindexter has been the accompanist for every “Café Carly” except the first one. “It’s fun for me musically,” Poindexter said. “Everything is upbeat and it always has a fun theme to it. Sometimes we’re doing a rock song or an ′80s pop song and trying to make it fit on piano is a challenge for me.”
It’s a challenge that Poindexter enjoys, he indicated.
The accompanist described the process of preparing for the show as “organic. We kind of feel it out in the moment rather than try to prepare everything exactly the way it’s going to go. I think that keeps the spontaneity and keeps the energy where we want it for the shows.”
He praises Hey Nonny, too.
“The venue’s fantastic,” Poindexter said. “Chip Brooks, the owner, is very supportive. Every time I’m in there I feel very welcome. They have a fantastic Yamaha grand piano to play.”
When he isn’t playing for “Café Carly,” Poindexter is an accompanist at Northwestern University and Roosevelt University. In addition, he freelances extensively as a musician for theaters, church services, school concerts, weddings, and more.
Stratman estimates that he has performed at “Café Carly” more than 10 times. “Carly is one of my oldest friends and she’s also one of the people I trust most on the stage,” he said. “Our voices align really well but we also banter really well so it’s playful and it’s fun.”
The singer noted that they have a built-in audience for the shows. “They come back for us,” he said. “It really feels like a community.”
He added that he particularly enjoys “the permission to be my weird self. That permission comes from Carly and from the audience. Carly is really good at curating your thoughts and making it into something interesting and relatable.”
At the show, Stratman will share the difference between falling in love when you’re in your 20s and your 30s.
After this show, Stratman heads to Saugatuck, Michigan, to appear in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
“The audience is always so wonderful at Hey Nonny,” Stocking said. “I only perform there now. It’s always a magical time.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
‘Café Carly Presents When I Grow Up’
When: 7:30 p.m. May 14
Where: Hey Nonny, 10 S. Vail Ave., Arlington Heights
Tickets: $18.70-$42.50
Information: 224-202-0750; heynonny.com/shows/cafe-carly-presents-when-i-grow-up