John C Reilly is ‘Mister Romantic’ on new album and tour (4 NYC shows)

John C Reilly, who you may know from Boogie Nights, Walk Hard, Step Brothers and Tim & Eric, began doing a vaudevillian one-man show as Mister Romantic back in 2022 where he mixes comic routines with performances of Great American Songbook standards. That’s now lead to his debut album as Mister Romantic, What’s Not To Love?, that features his band of David Garza (Fiona Apple, Sharon Van Etten), Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers, Rosanne Cash), Sebastian Steinberg (Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers), and Charles De Castro (Keb’ Mo’) and will be out June 13 via his own Eternal Magic Recordings label.

“I looked at our weary world a few years ago and tried to think of a way I could spread love and empathy,” Reilly says. “I decided the most fun way to do that was through performing and singing and telling people I loved them. So the emotional vaudeville show Mister Romantic was born, out of both hope and despair. What’s Not To Love? is a collection of songs from the show with some cinematic audio weaved in. They tell the story of an eternal optimist, Mister Romantic, as he looks for love. Each song moved me enough to want to share it with people and keep each one alive by passing it on like some of my favorite singers did in their time. The lyrics all have something deeply true about them. Someone once said “It’s better to light one tiny candle than to curse the darkness.” Well, this is our little candle in the darkness. We hope it reminds people that it’s good to love. I figured it was worth a try.”

You can listen to his version of Johnny Mercer’s 1944 song, “Dream,” which has also been performed by Frank Sinatra, Roy Orbison and more, below.

In celebration of the album, Reilly will be playing a few Mister Romantic shows around the US, billed as “an evening of love, longing, laughter and song accompanied by the sweet of sounds of a crackerjack band.” There are four shows in NYC: three nights at Cafe Carlyle on June 11-13, and then Pioneer Works on June 15. He’s also got dates in Tennessee and Los Angeles and those are listed below.

What’s Not To Love?
Just Another Sucker On The Vine
Dream
La Vie En Rose
Johnsburg, Illinois
You Don’t Know Me
Falling In Love Again
I Guess I’ll Get The Papers And Go Home
Picture In A Frame
The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On)
What’ll I Do?
Moonlight Serenade
I’ll Be Seeing You
What’s Not To Love?

John C. Reilly – Mister Romantic Tour Dates
May 18 – Franklin, TN @ Franklin Theatre
June 11 – New York, NY @ Cafe Carlyle
June 12 – New York, NY @ Cafe Carlyle
June 13 – New York, NY @ Cafe Carlyle
June 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works
June 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palace