Photo by www.billmckinley.com

This week, singer Bill McKinley (www.billmckinley.com) performs the second two of four tribute concerts to Walt Disney in his show, "Don't Tell Walt," which plays at the Metropolitan Room (www.metropolitanroom.com) in Chelsea on Wednesday, August 8th and Thursday, August 9th at 7:30 pm.

I was at last Thursday's show and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Granted, I'm a huge closet Disneyphile (though not as much of a self-proclaimed Disney freak as Bill is), so I was already predisposed to love the show. McKinley suavely gives the show a subversive feel, which should give even the hardest cynic a reason to go. By opening with a satirical jab at the Mouse House, Bill allows one to enjoy the evening without feeling too much like a softie. Don't go expecting an entire evening of cynical jabs, although there are plenty of them. Most of what you'll hear is a warm-hearted concert of 60 years of music culled from the vaults of the Walt Disney Company.

All the favorites are here: "Go The Distance" ("Hercules), "Heigh Ho" ("Snow White"), "I've Got No Strings" ("Pinocchio"), "Part of Your World" ("Little Mermaid"), "Zip-A- Dee-Doo-Dah" ("Song of the South") and many others including "Cruella De Vil" ("101 Dalmatians"),"You Can Fly!" ("Peter Pan"), and many more.

McKinley's voice is golden and it's no wonder that he's been hired to sing in "Pocahontas" and "Mulan," as his obvious love for the music enriches it far beyond what you will remember from countless recordings of these songs. The show moves along quicker than the Space Mountain ride and, for added flavor, Bill has included bits and pieces of Disneyland and Disney World soundtrack albums, featuring announcements for loading and unloading from familiar rides.

It gives the entire evening the sense of being on an "E Ticket Ride" that unfortunately has to eventually end. Of course there's no way to sing the entire Disney catalog in 75 minutes, but Bill tries to cram in a good deal of the oeuvre, including performing one of the most beautiful renditions of "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes," from "Cinderella," that I've ever heard outside of Ilene Woods' original recording. (I told you I was a Disneyphile--or does knowing who gave voice to Cinderella, without looking it up on the Internet Movie Database, make me a Disney freak?) Another highlight of the evening is McKinley's inclusion of "When Somebody Loved Me," from an abandoned Winnie the Pooh Broadway musical. Also stirring is his rendition of "Out There," from Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame," sung better and with more emotionally connection than Tom Hulce had in the movie. Here, McKinley really brought a song, which I had been indifferent to, to life.

"Don't Tell Walt" pretends to be for those who have lost their hearts but, as a stirring evening of joyful songs sung beautifully, it's sure to break down your hardened New York exterior faster than you can say--what else?-"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Bill McKinley's "Don't Tell Walt" plays Wednesday, August 8th and Thursday, August 9th at the Metropolitan Room located at 34 West 22nd Street, between 5th and 6th.

Check out Bill's website at www.billmckinley.com.