Goodbye Little L Shaped Room
- Mark Christian Miller
- Dec 23, 2025
- 2 min read
Dori Amarilio, Keri Kelsey, Lyman Meideros. The final performance at Tom Rolla's Gardenia. photo by Janet S. Blake
When the Gardenia opened in 1981, it was a hot ticket, and I dreamed of performing there. The little pink, L shaped room with the gardenia etched window was attracting the top names in cabaret - Julie Wilson (whose picture in recent years hung in a place of prominence,) Penny Fuller, LeRoy Reams, Linda Lavin, Page Cavanaugh, too many others to name here. I got my first booking there in the late 80s, and after that first show the owner Tom Rolla told me I was welcome to come in any time to perform. That's where I learned how to put an act together. So many memories, shows with the late Joyce Collins, Gildo Mahones, Al Aarons, Bob Maize, Ralph Penland, and Earl Palmer; a show that was very special to me with the very much present Josh Nelson, Kristin Korb and Sammy Miller. Somebody once said to me, dismissively, "The Gardenia is not a jazz room." I replied, "It is when I work there."
An ex-dancer who had enjoyed success on Broadway, Tom Rolla ran the club on his terms. You were not allowed to be setting up gear while there were diners present, and woe betide the unauthorized person who was caught back in the tiny green room. In its prime, The Gardenia was not only a prestigious booking for performers, it was also a dining destination with Tommy very much hands on in the kitchen. He was a wonderful chef, known for his steak tartare and Cornish game hens. Tom passed away in 2017, and the room soldiered on for another eight years, kept alive by his partner Bruce Lohman and overseen by the hardworking and loyal Nichole Rice with long time mixologist Kyle Branche behind the bar. But the pressures of operating an intimate cabaret in a neighborhood being devoured by high rise mixed used apartment buildings proved to be too much. I suspect the entire corner will be razed very soon.
In recent years Keri Kelsey created a safe, welcoming music haven for so many with her open mic Tuesday nights. While I couldn’t attend Keri's final shows last week, I was privileged to see two wonderful evenings this past year - Jason Graae working his cabaret magic with Gerald Sternbach on the baby grand, and a marvelous evening of jazz with Liz Cole and Jeffrey
Gimble accompanied by a top tier trio led by pianist Josh Nelson with Aaron Serfaty on percussion and Eric Sittner on bass.
This beautiful photo by Janet S. Blake captures Keri's spirit on the emotional final performance at what was the longest running cabaret supper club in the country.
So good-bye little L shaped room. Thanks for the use of the hall.
For an in depth look at the remarkable life of Tom Rolla, check out this excellently researched and written Cabaret Scenes article by Les Traub:
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