2002 Cabaret Convention - Saturday Night
SIXTH NIGHT
AT THE CABARET CONVENTION
Saturday, October 26, 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.
Quite frankly,
as I headed to THE TOWN HALL (123 West 43rd Street, NYC - http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org/)
for the sixth night of the NYC CABARET CONVENTION (the fifth night
for me, since I was not given press tickets to the fourth -Thursday-
night show), I was just a little bit relieved in knowing that this
would be my final visit to the 2002 event.
The whole
idea of spending three hours each night in a theater-style seat,
watching performances that were mere samples of a performer's work,
had by this point become a chore rather than a pleasure. The performances
so far ran the gamut of top notch to mediocre and in a few instances,
even less. Give me a cabaret room, plenty of space to stretch, a
cocktail in my hand, and a performance of my choosing and I am in
heaven. Put me in a 1500-seat hall, with just a little space to
fidget in, and sharing an armrest with folks on either side, for
three hours is sort of like being in the center seat of a sold-out
flight to Chicago, but without the complementary bag of peanuts
to munch on.
Having
to write this sixth-day report has been an exercise in determination
and will. Not that this show was in any way a bad show. But one
runs out of new and fresh things to say by this time. And, having
been to both the Chicago and Philadelphia conventions, seeing many
of the same performers (and hearing them sing some of the same songs),
everything was beginning to blur and run together. Both the other
conventions covered Richard Rodgers songbook rather extensively,
as have just about one out of three cabaret shows I attended since
January. Thus, the delay of a few days in getting report completed.
But, on
to my report.
After the
by-now-all-too-familiar litany of Mr. Donald Smith's accomplishments
over the past 15 years or so from the ominous offstage voice, and
the by-now-just-too-cute jokes about the CDs in the lobby and the
alledgedly totally true anecdotes of phone calls from little old
ladies, Mr. Smith introduced the first performer, already seated
at the piano.
I
have known Mark Nadler since the days when he shared the piano with
the late Marie Blake at the now closed 5 OAKS restaurant/piano bar
in the Village. He has always been a bit unpredictable, and once
again he offered the unusual. Mark's opening number was "Shall We
Dance" (this was night three of the Richard Rodgers Tribute being
staged as part of this year's convention). But, taking things one
step further, as is Mark's habit, he stepped away from the piano
and began to tap dance - yes, there were taps on his shoes - while
humming the song. Then singer Craig Rubano, who was also listed
on the program, came in from side stage, sat at the piano, and proceeded
to accompany Mark (mostly with one finger) while he continued his
dance, returning to the piano to finish the song, while Mr. Rubano
slipped away back to the wings.
Mark's
second number was "Moon of My Delight" from a very little know Rodgers'
musical called "Chee-Chee" and this time KT Sullivan magically appeared
from the opposite side of the stage to sing in duet for a part of
the number.
Ms. Lanie
Nelson, who we rarely see here in NYC, but apparently is quite active
as a performer on the West Coast, was next, with Shelly Markham
at the piano. Quite frankly, I was so under-whelmed by her set I
forgot to make note of her first song, and when I awoke from my
daydreaming she was into her second number, "This Nearly Was Mine."
I have no real complaints - Ms. Nelson is lovely to look at, has
lovely vocals, but I would have enjoyed a little more "sparkle"
in her performance.
Making
his Cabaret Convention debut, Scott Coulter, who was next on the
program, soon provided the sparkle. He opened his set with a extremely
slow version of "The Sound of Music," title song of the movie/musical
which Scott told us was his very first introduction to musicals
and Richard Rogers as a child (and, as he put it, to Catholics -
Scott was from the South). Leading into his next song he mentioned
being raised in an area where prejudice was dominant, and he pointed
out how Richard Rogers spoke to this issue dozens of years ago.
Scott sang "You Have to Be Carefully Taught," combined with "We
Kiss in the Shadow." I have always found Mr. Coulter's vocals to
be beautiful. Tonight he sounded even better than ever - chilling!
Walter
Willison was in a Richard Rodger's musical called "Two by Two" when
he first performed on Broadway. He spent several minutes defending
Mr. Rodgers from the charge that Rodgers was not a nice person.
Actually, no one has even mentioned this all year, to my knowledge,
and I was puzzled why it was brought up at all. Then he spent several
minutes defending the show "Two by Two," placing all the blame for
the show's supposed bad reputation on the antics of Danny Kaye,
who was the star in the original production. Again, why mention
this at all? What difference does it make? Finally, he got down
to the business at hand - singing. If not for the speeches, I would
have found this set most enjoyable. Mr. Willison gave us wonderful
readings of two songs from the show, "There Has To Be Something
That You Like" and the most romantic "I Do Not Know a Day I Did
Not Love You."
Daryl
Sherman is currently appearing at the Cole Porter Steinway on the
COCKTAIL TERRACE of The Waldorf Astoria (Park Ave & 49th Street,
NYC - 1-212-355-3000) and she did another one of those "solo with
bass only" numbers that I mentioned I was a bit tired of in my last
report. The song was "Many a New Day." Someone wrote me that it
was very difficult to sing solo with just bass accompaniment, and
that I should applaud the effort. I can only say, I didn't come
to see a contest, I came for a performance. Then Ms. Sherman took
the piano bench to sing "You're Nearer." Frankly, my comments about
Ms. Nelson could be repeated here, but I hate repetition.
Mr. Smith,
however, was duly impressed, and called Ms. Sherman over to present
her with another one of those nightly Certificates of Appreciation.
Sir Richard
Rodney Bennett was next up. This multi-talented man never fails
to charm me with this vocals, his attitude and his no-nonsense approach
to his craft. His set was brief and his presentation impeccable
as he performed "Bye & Bye" and "Ending Up With Me Again" (the second
song was cut from the musical Pal Joey).
Nancy Dussault
has had a long career on stage and TV, and is perhaps best known
for her stint as cohost with David Hartman on ABC-TV's "Good Morning
America" show. In recent years she has performed in cabarets from
coast to coast. I find her to be a delightful performer. She offered
"Where or When" followed by "Manhattan." But, as with several of
the performers seen this night, Ms. Dussault's set was competent,
but lacking anything memorable.
But,
hold on to your seat. Don't leave quite yet. Ms. Julie Wilson was
next and arrived on stage wearing a bright, white sailer suit and
cap, decorated only by a navy blue tie that reached nearly to her
knees. With unbounded energy and enthusiasms, Ms. Wilson proceeded
to steal the show - and the entire convention - with a gang-busters
performance of "Honey Bun." Julie looked and acted like a girl of
18 - totally captivating us with her song. She danced, she pranced,
she flirted, she shimmied, she totally sang that song! Never missing
a beat, never missing a lyric, and never missing a chance to "bring
it home!" She ended the song by tossing her cap far into the audience.
Then, stepping
in from the wings, that man with the ominous off-stage voice, Rick
Meadows, placed the trademark white gardenia behind Julie's left
ear, and in an instant she was once again the glamorous and seductive
Ms. Wilson as she sang "The Lady Is a Tramp" as only Julie Wilson
can.
Imagine,
exactly one year ago we were all remembering Julie in our thoughts
and prayers as she was hospitalized and later resting at home after
a very serious illness. Now she seemed as excited and lively as
a teenager, bursting with love, fun and just a little naughtiness.
The intermission
followed, and I knew in my heart that nothing could possibly top
the seven exciting minutes of greatness I had just witnessed. I
even toyed with the idea of calling it a night. But, after the 15-minute
break, I was back in the center of Row H for what would be the last
half of the last 2002 NYC Cabaret Convention show I would be attending.
Craig
Rubano opened the second act, with Mark Nadler at the piano. He
and Mark did a rousing and fun version of "Kansas City" and Craig
followed with a wonderful presentation of "My Romance" and "The
Most Beautiful Girl in the World." Mr. Rubano's vocals are perfection,
and when he goes for the big note, he gets it effortlessly.
Mr.
Sidney Myer made his second appearance at the convention, singing
just one number, called "Keep It Gay." As Mr. Smith noted after
Sidney's performance, this was not quite the way the song was sung
originally on Broadway.
Sylvia
McNair was next on the program, with Ted Taylor at the piano. Her
performance background has been mainly on the operatic and concert
stages. Quite frankly, I had not heard of her until tonight. She
offered us "Everyone Has Someone, Why Can't I" followed by "Spring
Is Here" and "Little Girl Blue."
As
a young child, Heather Mac Rae met Richard Rogers when her father,
Gordon Mac Rae, was filming the movie version of OKLAHOMA. She related
that her father nearly lost the role to James Dean. With Mark Nadler
at the piano, Ms. Mac Rae sang "I Wish I Were In Love Again," closing
her set with "The Surry With a Fringe On Top." I find this lady
to be a most wonderful performer, always introducing her songs with
delightful stories.
A
true cabaret performer, Mary Cleere Haran, was next in the show.
Always the consummate artist, Ms. Haran performed a very spirited
"Way Out West on West End Avenue" followed by "Bewitched."
The final
performer was Avery Sommers, who just returned from an 18-month
tour with the show "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" featuring Ann-Margaret.
With Dick Gallagher at the piano, Ms. Sommers closed the show with
a combo of "Thou Swell" and "This Can't Be Love," followed by a
most entertaining and seductive "Bali Hai."
The report
on the Sunday closing show of the convention has been written by
Brent Winborn, and will be appearing shortly after this report -
it is already here and just awaiting some slight editing and proofing
before being published. Then, to close the report, I am writing
a CONVENTION OVERVIEW report, which hopefully will be completed
by the end of the week.
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