In interviews, Bond and Mellman have offered their politics as a reason for coming to Broadway now, but the overt political stuff is the least satisfying part of the show. The anger is real, and of course the Bush administration deserves it. Still, how much lefty affirmation does a New York crowd need? All the same, to the extent that Broadway retains any claim to being the shop window for the best performers in town, it’s exactly where these two belong.

In a towering wig and what looks like a Pucci dress in shades of avocado salsa, Bond pivots between Mellman and the crowd, keeping up the banter, then bursting into song. Voice pitching between a squeal and a howl, then mellowing in a way that recalls the young Bowie, he gives one of the most mesmerizing performances on Broadway. On his right, Mellman draws booming, kaleidoscopic sound from his baby grand. He’ll play a quiet line under Kiki’s chatter, then, in the midst of some improbable medley (“Make Yourself Comfortable” by Bob Merrill and Radiohead’s “Creep,” for instance), he’ll pound the piano like he wants to bust its rivets. The act may bog down now and then, and certainly isn’t to all tastes, but it never leaves you in doubt that here, finally, is what Broadway says it wants: real originality, in all its untidy glory.

Showing imperfect timing for maybe the first time ever, Meryl Streep makes her return to Central Park just as our Fall Preview issue goes to press. So my review of Mother Courage—translation by Tony Kushner, co-starring Kevin Kline—will appear on Tuesday, August 22, the morning after opening night, on the theater page.

Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway
Helen Hayes Theatre.
Through September 10.