2002 Cabaret Convention - Friday Night
FIFTH NIGHT
AT THE CABARET CONVENTION
Friday, October 25, 2002
Town Hall, New York City
Please note: No "song lists" distributed at the convention, so some
of the song titles in these reports may not be accurate and/or misspelled.
First off,
my thanks to Alan Kull for his succinct and descriptive report on
the Fourth Night of the NYC CABARET CONVENTION. I must agree with
his observation that the series is actually misnamed - a high percentage
of the performers appearing this week rarely or never perform in
cabarets, and the performances, for the most part, are done more
in a concert format than a cabaret format.
I also
want to thank all the folks who sent in e-mails regarding my comments
on the show of Tuesday night. While many asked that their comments
be considered "off the record," the responses were almost unanimously
in agreement with my statements regarding vocalists who miss the
key and the "art" of scat singing. One person did point out that
many jazz musicians consider the vocalist just another instrument
in the band, as it were, and that in most jazz circles, the lyric
is subservient to the melody, which is in turn subservient to the
rhythm.
Back to
the report.
After having
Thursday night off, I once again found myself following my by-now-accustomed
route through Times Square towards THE TOWN HALL (123 West 43rd
Street, NYC - http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org/).
Along the way I spotted Scott Siegel handing out fliers advertising
the upcoming events he is producing at TOWN HALL, especially THE
FIRST ANNUAL NIGHTLIFE AWARDS, celebrating the best in New York's
Cabaret, Jazz, and Comedy on Monday, January 27th, 2003 at 8:00
pm. Please remember that tickets were available at THE TOWN HALL
box office only during the week of the Cabaret Convention but tickets
are currently available at TicketMaster: 1-212-307-4100 or through
http://www.Theatermania.com/.
Tickets won't be available at the box office again until January
2, 2003. Tickets are available for $75, $50, and $25. Post Show
Party tickets are $50. There is a more complete story, with photo,
in the "Breaking News" section of the CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE website
(http://www.cabarethotlineonline.com/).
This was
the second night of the Cabaret Convention's 3-night Richard Rodgers
Centennial Tribute. The show opened with the usual announcements
regarding CDs available in the lobby, etc. As Alan Kull mentioned
in his report, there has been no mention on any of the nights about
next year's NYC event, but in the program book, the following Cabaret
Convention dates are listed - you may all wish to take note.
SECOND
CHICAGO CABARET CONVENTION: February 14 through 17, 2003
FIRST EVER
PALM SPRINGS CABARET CONVENTION: March 7 through 9, 2003
14th ANNUAL
NYC CABARET CONVENTION: October 20 through 26, 2003
Mention
has also been made by the ominous anonymous voice that lists Mr.
Smith's credits at the start of each show (except the Tuesday show)
of a HAMPTONS CABARET CONVENTION in July of 2003, but I could not
find any exact information about this event in the program.
First
on the program was Judy Kaye, currently appearing on Broadway at
the WINTER GARDEN THEATER in the show "Mamma Mia." In the Broadway
show, Ms. Kaye is called upon to sing full-out, and she certainly
did so in her first number, a medley of the songs "Cockeyed Optimist"
and "A Few of My Favorite Things." A belt isn't intended to be pretty,
but awesome, and Ms. Kaye was awesome. She followed with a much
more subdued rendition of "Little Girl Blue," which I found most
enjoyable. By the way, Ms. Kaye is no slouch in the "toot-your-own-horn"
department - her bio took up two full pages in the program book
- the longest of them all. Ms. Marcovicci takes second place with
1 1/2 pages. Nearly all the rest are just 1/2 page or less.
Mary
Foster Conklin was next and she opened with "The Gentleman is a
Dope," which she has also recorded on one of her CDs. With Jeffrey
Klitz on the piano, Ms. Conklin again proved that she is one of
the most delightful sounding (and looking) performers around. She
followed with a great reading of the song "Glad to Be Unhappy."
No one in jazz is kinder (and truer) to a lyric than Mary!
Broadway
actor Marian Seldes was introduced next as cohost of the evening's
show, and she began with a sort of explanation of why it was appropriate
for a non-singing actor to be a part of a cabaret convention. Her
thesis that all performance is theater was just a bit unclear and
confusing.
The
last time that i heard Larry Woodard perform solo was at the Philadelphia
Cabaret Convention (Last Ever?) earlier this year, and at that time
he was just getting free of a bad cold. In true "the-show-must-go-on"
fashion, Larry did his set, and received appreciative applause.
Tonight he was in extremely good voice, and sang "Don't Marry Me,"
followed by "Your Are Beautiful." It reminded me of the "old days"
when I would catch Larry regularly when he did stints at BoBo's
(now closed) and the old Triad Piano Bar (now a "lounge" catering
mostly rock and r&b bands).
BarBara
Luna was a child performer in the original casts of SOUTH PACIFIC
and THE KING & I, and she came on next to sing "Dit Es Moi" and
"Boys & Girls." But a good part of her time was spent relating what
it was like to be a 6-year old in a Broadway show. Apparently Mr.
Rodgers took a particular shine to Ms. Luna, and even paid for vocal
lessons for her.
Mary Beth
Peil, another Broadway actress, was the last person to perform in
THE KING AND I opposite Yul Brenner. For a Broadway performer, she
seemed rather stiff and inanimate as she sand "So Far" and "Shall
We Dance." If any number called for a bit of movement, it was the
second one.
We were
given quite a buildup in the introduction of Kirsten Benton and
Stan Chandler, a pair of singers who also happen to be husband and
wife. Both have extensive solo theater credits. Their first number
was "Any Old Place With You," a song that consists of rhyming several
cities and places - many of the rhymes rather strained. They performed
it as sort of a contest, each trying to stump the other with a difficult
word for the other to rhyme. But there was more "acting" than singing,
and the song became muddled, with skips, jumps, halts and bumps,
as the performers feigned puzzlement. Their second song was "Where
or When" which they sang as a duet - with seemingly more attention
made on the harmonization than on the lyric of the song. I found
the set a disappointment, after what we had been prepared to hear.
This causes
me to interject here that, when you have several dozen performers
gathered to sing Richard Rodgers songs over three nights, there
is a temptation by some of the cast members to try to do something
different and out of the ordinary with the songs. At times this
works, but at times the result is that the arrangement/performance
stands in the way of the song.
During
the intermission that followed I made it to the lobby to replenish
the lovely CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE post cards on the various display
counters. They seemed to disappear at every visit. I ran into two
of my cabaret friends from Boston, John O'Neill and Randy Zinkus,
who had come to town specifically to see Jan Peters make her Cabaret
Convention debut later in the program. John will bring his highly
acclaimed show "So Kaye: The Songs of Danny Kaye," to STONEHAM THEATRE
(395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA - 781-279-2200 - http://www.stonehamtheatre.org/)
on Thursday, November 7th at 7:30 pm along with Boston Channel 7
News meteorologist, Christine Clayburg. There is a more complete
story, with photo, in the "Breaking News" section of the CABARET
HOTLINE ONLINE website (http://www.cabarethotlineonline.com/).
First
performer after the intermission was Phillip Officer, with Dick
Gallagher at the piano. Rather than singing two numbers from his
marvelous Richard Rodgers-themed CD, Phillip chose two rather lesser
known songs: "There Was Nothing But You" and "We're Going To Be
Alright." Mr. Officer's vocals remain among the purest in cabaret
- he presents each word and note with clarity and precision. While
occasionally his gestures are larger than life, his enthusiasm for
the lyric seems unbounded.
Joyce
Breach, on the other hand, at times seemed unimpressed by the lyric.
With Tex Arnold at the piano, she followed Mr. Officer with two
numbers: "He Was Too Good To Me" and "That's For Me." Both songs
were done competently, but without much spirit. She did, however,
impress the Mabel Mercer folks, since Mr. Smith came out after her
set to present another of those framed certificates. It was presented
in part in appreciation for Ms. Breach's recent CD recording honoring
Ms. Mercer, called "Remembering Mabel."
It has
been far to long since I have had the chance to hear a performance
by Thos Shipley. This man's vocals, especially in the lower ranges,
are absolutely incomparable. He sang his first number, (with accordion
accompaniment) "My Romance" with eloquence and charm. This song
is one of the most sung on the cabaret/piano bar circuit, but I
doubt it has been done quite this way before. For his second selection,
Thos chose "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," done with a slick jazz
beat. Except for the one long section of scat (see an earlier convention
report for my views on this), the delivery was sumptuous.
A
good friend of mine from Boston, Jan Peters, was next on the program,
replacing the originally announced Boston performer Brian De Lorenzo,
who was blessed with a paying gig back in Boston (Cabaret Convention
performers do not receive any remuneration). Jan chose "I Have Dreamed"
and "Wait Til You See Her" as her two numbers. When I heard that
Jan would be performing, I e-mailed her that I was hoping she would
be fantastic in the show, because I had been telling a lot of New
Yorker's what a great treasure she was. She did not disappoint me.
Sandy Stewart
and her son, Bill Charlap, were next. Sandy was a regular many years
ago on the Perry Como TV show, and did several other TV singing
appearances. She left show business for a while to raise a family,
in the early 60s. She has now returned to performing. Her songs
were "You Took Advantage of Me" and "Dancing on the Ceiling/" Here
is one of those situations where I was unfamiliar with a performer
in their "prime" and so I perhaps could not appreciate this performance
as much as others around me. I have no real complaints, I just felt
that this particular performance was bland and ordinary - I certainly
did not find it as exciting as the folks in the row in front of
me, who were cheering and applauding wildly.
In
a surprise appearance, Wesla Whitfield came on to sing "Blue Moon"
with simply a bass accompanist. I must admit, I am getting just
a bit tired of the concept of a singer singing just to a bass accompanist.
Give me a piano, and better still, give me a piano with Mike Greensill
sitting at it. As usual, Ms. Whitfield was magnificent - but it
would even have been better if ... you know what it mean.
To
close the show, Mr. Smith presented the amazing Georga Osborne.
Known for her perfect comic timing, and amazing musical comedy choices,
Ms. Osborn preceded her set with the reading of a letter she found
in the attic of her childhood home on a recent visit. Georga is
the 8th daughter in a family of eight daughters, and the letter
was written to her mother by a friend, sympathizing with her over
the birth of yet another daughter. Then, with Steven Ray Watkins
at the piano, Georga gave a rousing rendition of "I Enjoy Being
a Girl!" No doubt this number is from her new show "Summer In The
Attic (Some're Not)," playing at DON'T TELL MAMA (343 West 46th
Street, NYC - 1-212-757-0788 - http://www.donttellmamanyc.com/),
remaining dates: Tuesday, October 29th at 8:30 pm; Thursday, November
14th at 8:00 pm; Sunday, November 17th at 5:30 pm; Friday, November
22nd at 7:00 pm; Sunday, November 24th at 5:30 pm.
What many
folks forget, what with all the comedy, is that Georga is also an
accomplished singer, performing in operas, concerts, as a back-up
singer for many famous artists, etc. We were all reminded of her
fantastic vocal talents when she sang "Falling in Love with Love,"
with a fantastic, flourishing and vocally challenging ending. Brava!
This was
a shorter show than the other Cabaret Convention nights - ending
at 8:45 pm - all the other shows thus far were over three hours
long (including a 15-minute intermission.
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