Click here to go to rkj's Group Musical Gallery to hear samples from the CD and for ordering information |
Click here to listen to our original demo (the club act from hell) -- we're still the same deeee-lish duo with a different moniker! |
“A Must See for Comedy Masochists!” Kathy O’Malley, Chicago Tribune WGN, “Kathy & Judy Show” “A Devilish Slice of Heavenly Entertainment!” Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun Times Fox Entertainment Reporter “Delightfully, wickedly funny!” Lewis Lazare, Crain’s Chicago Business |
In 1992, after years of performing a comedy musical act as his show biz alter ego Dick O’Day, Richard Knight, Jr., pianist (and wretched vocalist as Mr. O’Day) teamed up with mega singer Becca Kaufman to become The Show Biz Kids From Hell!, a comedy cabaret duo. From their debut at Espial, a cutting edge north side Chicago club that sadly closed its doors a few years later, The Show Biz Kids From Hell! have never looked back, and have never wanted for audiences. Knight met Kaufman, a native New Yorker, who moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern University, at the Arlington racetrack (naturally) and after betting on the ponies, the team rehearsed a show and before you can say “Spyros Skouras choreographs the Rockettes” an act was born that has wowed audiences 15 years and counting! The “act” consists of Dick playing and singing horribly but thinking he’s fabulous and needing to constantly impart his hard earned show biz “wisdom” to “the girl,” young Becca (who sings like a bird). “The Girl” is an accomplished studio singer and voice over talent, who you’ve heard proclaiming the delights of Coke, Diet Coke, Bally’s, Buick and many others. Kaufman’s character voices can also be heard on many games and toys, including the smash CD-ROM series, You Don’t Know Jack. The teaming of O’Day and Kaufman drew immediate raves from Chicago critics for their fast, funny interactive show which they lovingly dub, “The trailer park of cabaret,” owing to its emphasis on popular culture and material not often heard by a piano duo (everything from Led Zeppelin to disco and TV theme songs). The original name, The Club Act From Hell, eventually morphed into The Show Biz Kids From Hell! in recognition of the comedy duo's popularity beyond the cabaret scene in both public and private venues. You name it – they've played it – from Park West to Taste of Chicago and every country club and cabaret within a 50-mile radius of Chicago! In addition, Kaufman and Knight not only kicked off the Chicago Aids Walk for three years, but also co-wrote, co-produced and performed “Walk For Life,” the 1995 AIDS Walk theme song. Between Show Biz Kids performances (and a kid friendly version is available WITHOUT the “Hell!” add-on for younger or more impressionable audiences), Kaufman has become an expert wedding singer and all around wedding etiquette authority, among other activities like the Becca Kaufman Orchestra. Mr. O’Day hasn’t exactly been idle either. Click HERE to read Dick’s full bio. From 1999-2002, Kaufman co-creator and co-host of the radio wedding talk show I Do! I Do!, was heard each week on Chicago’s WCKG-FM. O’Day was part of the line-up as resident film critic (and now his alter ego Richard Knight, Jr. holds that title for Windy City Times). In the summer of 2002 he hosted a Midnight Movie series for Landmark Theatres (Dick’s a movie maven). In 2001 Kaufman co-created and monthly co-hosts the Chicago Singer Spotlight at the legendary Fitzgerald’s nightclub. This in turn has spawned a veritable empire of singing showcases over which Kaufman happily presides. Click HERE for their extensive website. At present, Mr. O’Day and Ms. Kaufman continue to dazzle their many private and corporate clients and still occasionally do public shows. A spring 2004 show at Chicago’s renowned Theatre Building highlighted Kaufman’s second visit from the stork and was titled, “The Show Biz Kids: Pregnant With Possibilities” while a spring 2006 show at the famed Fitzgerald's trumpeting her THIRD (and final she swears) impending stork drop off added the word "Again!" to the title. The duo celebrates their 20th anniversary in 2012 with a slew of special performance gigs. BOOKING INFORMATION |
CLICK the thumbnails below to watch the Show Biz Kids perform two separate numbers: |
A Disco Medley |
Stuff Like That There |