2002 Cabaret Convention - Sunday Afternoon
CLOSING
GALA AT THE CABARET CONVENTION
Sunday, October 27, 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.
As
you know, the MABEL MERCER FOUNDATION was not able to provide me
with press tickets to the fourth night as well as the closing gala
of the 2002 NYC Cabaret Convention, so the following is a recap
of the events at Sunday afternoon's show, written by Brent Winborn.
I was extremely
excited about the closing performance of the 13th New York Cabaret
Convention at THE TOWN HALL (123 West 43rd Street, NYC - http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org/).
The "Four Women of Song" that were featured in the matinee event
are all stars of the Broadway stage and top New York cabaret rooms.
I'm sure Donald Smith could not have chosen a better roster of female
performers who are appealing to a general theater audience but true
cabaret artists as well. Karen Akers, Christine Andreas, Karen Mason
and KT Sullivan are very different in physical and vocal quality
but the one thing that they all have in common is a love of singing.
Their joy of performing and natural rapport with the audience made
THE TOWN HALL, a venue sometimes criticized as too large for cabaret,
seem as intimate a setting as THE ALGONQUIN OAK ROOM (59 West 44th
Street, NYC - 1-212-840-6800 - http://www.algonquinhotel.com/).
I attended
the performance on Sunday, the 27th, with my friend Gloria. We took
our seats in the balcony shortly before the performance began. As
the lights dimmed, the list of Donald Smith's credits was read and
he appeared at the podium to announce the first woman of song: KT
Sullivan.
KT
Sullivan is truly the darling of the Cabaret Convention. She appeared
in a sparkling gray and silver dress with a black boa draped around
her shoulders and swiftly crossed to center stage to begin the evening
with a character version of "Cuddle Up A Little Closer Lovey Mine"
performed at lightening speed. KT has shrewdly adopted a sweet,
slightly ditzy cabaret persona. Most cabaret performers strive to
present their natural persona on stage, but KT wears her character
so well and uses it to such comic success, slipping in and out of
it effortlessly, that it becomes an attribute rather than an artifice.
After she
finished her brief opening song, her pianist, James Followell, directed
her to begin again with a slower, sultry delivery much as George
Montgomery does with Betty Grable, KT later explained, in the movie
CONEY ISLAND (Ms. Grable is evidently so unwilling to take direction
that Mr. Montgomery eventually uses handcuffs to pin her to a tree).
The songs in KT's set were from her new album, LADIES OF THE SILVER
SCREEN. KT followed Betty Grable with a tribute to Bette Davis and
a song from THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS written by Frank Loesser. Next
she sang a lovely rendition of "Love In Vain" from CENTENNIAL SUMMER
and told a wonderful story about how Jeanne Crain was one of her
favorite singers until she was told that Ms. Craine's songs were
always dubbed in by someone else. Later KT performed Carmen Miranda's
"Tico Tico" using her excellent comic timing to delight the audience.
Her finale was a nicely sung Marlene Dietrich number. KT provided
a giddy effervescent beginning to a magical evening. She is a gifted
singing comedienne.
KT
was followed by Karen Akers. Ms. Akers appeared on stage in a long
fitted black dress accentuating her statuesque presence. Many of
the songs in Ms. Akersą repertoire were unfamiliar to me and to
many of the audience members perhaps as well. With many performers,
this could have been a dangerous choice, however Ms. Akers proved
to be an expert guide for the uncharted territory. I do not know
the title of her first song since songs are not listed in the Convention
program and I had never heard this number before. However, it was
a lovely waltz performed by Ms. Akers in a voice that was somehow
strong and confident but with a fragile quality as well.
In tribute
to Richard Rodgers, Ms. Akers next sat on the piano to sing an amusing
song from GARRICK GAIETIES about Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. She
followed that with two Schmidt & Jones songs from the FANTASTICKS,
the most familiar of her song selections. As she sang "They Were
You" followed by "Try To Remember," I noticed that not a sound was
being made in the entire auditorium. She had so captivated the audience
that the entire house was holding their breath hanging on each word
she sang.
Ms. Akers
ended her segment of the evening with several songs that were either
written and/or sung in the French cabaret style. One of the songs,
written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, was originally sung by
Judy Garland as the voice of a cat in the 1962 animated feature
GAY PURR-EE. The song, "Paris Is a Lonely Town," was performed with
appropriate bluesy tone by Ms. Akers and her musical director Don
Rebic. I can't imagine Judy Garland performing the song with more
emotion and honesty than Ms. Akers. Her last number and the first
act closer for the evening was the Jacques Brel song "If We Only
Have Love." She prefaced the song with the hopeful words of an Arab
poet she had found in the International Herald Tribune, "The mystery
of love is greater than the mystery of evil."
Ms. Akersą
voice has gotten richer and lovelier since she appeared in the Broadway
production of NINE in 1982. The truth and simplicity of her delivery
are captivating and enchanting. She explained early in her segment
that she would talk very little because she preferred to sing. Indeed
she exhibited her joy of singing in a manner that made even the
most introspective songs open and available like a secret shared
between close friends. She is a true master of the cabaret art form.
My companion
and I chose to remain in our seats during intermission. Neither
of us wanted to disturb the afterglow of Karen Akersą performance
with a trip to the packed Town Hall lobby. I had taken advantage
of the CD sale held from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday so that I would
not have to fight the crowds in the lobby. I'm hoping the CD sale,
which included artists on hand to autograph their albums, will become
an annual part of the Convention festivities. It was wonderful to
be able to browse the selections calmly without the harried grabbing
and shuffling about that occurs before and after the performances
and at intermission.
The
second half of the evening began with a blast of energy from the
compelling Karen Mason, wearing sleek pants and a silvery white
top. She began with a vibrant arrangement of "Tonight" from WEST
SIDE STORY. Ms. Mason was an excellent choice to begin the second
act of an afternoon performance. Her wildly exciting belt would
discourage even the most determined matinee napper. She followed
the ovation she received from "Tonight" with a wonderful arrangement
by her musical director, Christopher Denny, of "Steppiną Out With
My Baby," interwoven with other Bernstein rhythms and melodies from
WEST SIDE STORY.
Ms. Mason
explained to the audience that she had only recently discovered
the delight of singing classics from the American Songbook and followed
her story with a very nice version of the Gershwin standard "How
Long Has This Been Going On." She followed that selection with a
cute version of "When In Rome I Do As The Romans Do.: Then she pulled
back somewhat to perform some more intimate numbers. The first,
"Up On The Roof," was arranged in a lovely way by Christopher Denny
that made it seem like an Ann Dinerman story song.
Ms. Mason's
love of singing is just as apparent as Ms. Akersą but it comes across
in a very different way. Whereas Ms. Akersą ardor opens her up,
often Ms. Mason's zeal causes her to get lost in her amazing voice,
which is particularly noticeable when she closes her eyes shutting
herself off from the audience. However, when she followed "Up On
The Roof" with a very sensitive ballad, I was almost moved to tears
until she began to belt and lost her original intent. At that point,
I wished that George Montgomery had rushed on stage with the handcuffs
he used on Betty Grable to make Ms. Mason keep the number simple.
She has no need to hide behind her voice. For when she uses her
voice as an extension of her fine acting ability, she brings herself
closer to the audience and gives her performance a depth that goes
beyond the exhilaration of her phenomenal sound.
Ms. Mason
understandably brought down the house with her closing number, a
clever arrangement of the Beatles' "Help" and Sondheim's "Being
Alive" from COMPANY. It is easy to see why Ms. Mason has risen from
her roots in the cabaret community at in Chicago and later NYC to
become the star of such Broadway hits as SUNSET BOULEVARD and MAMA
MIA.
The
final performer of the afternoon was the talented and charming Christine
Andreas. She sailed onto the stage in a beautiful black ball gown
with a white border at the bodice and a flashy scarlet underskirt.
Her opening song was "Some People" from the musical GYPSY. In a
complimentary bookend to KT Sullivan's LADIES OF THE SILVER SCREEN,
Ms. Andreas chose to perform songs from her latest album, HERE'S
TO THE LADIES, a salute to women of the stage. She commented after
"Some People" that her early impressions of Ethel Merman were frightening
because she appeared to own the stage. Well, so does Ms. Andreas,
but her control of the stage was not frightening instead it was
welcoming and enchanting.
The next
lady that she saluted was Mary Martin. Christine began by singing
"I'm Flying" from PETER PAN and then enticingly sang "My Heart Belongs
to Daddy" atop the piano. She was every bit as comfortable on the
piano as she was gliding about the stage floor. She followed her
tribute to Mary Martin, with a nod to Julie Andrews by singing "Show
Me" from MY FAIR LADY. She then paid homage to Gertrude Lawrence
with "My Ship: from LADY IN THE DARK and for the first time we heard
the lovely legitimate soprano voice that garnered Ms. Andreas roles
in the Broadway revivals of MY FAIR LADY and ON YOUR TOES.
I was much
more familiar with Ms. Andreas's legit voice but her belt voice
proved equally lovely and exciting, which is fortunate since most
of the women Ms. Andreas featured in her tribute were belters.
The next
lady to be honored was Angela Lansbury. Ms. Andreas performed very
moving renditions of "My Best Beau" and "Boy With The Bugle" from
MAME, which may have been made more effective by the presence of
her own son in the audience. Ms. Andreas imbued her performance
with a frank, almost innocent, sensuality. This is an appealing
quality, which she used to great effect as Laurie in the 1979 revival
of OKLAHOMA!
As I watched
Ms. Andreas perform, I was impressed again by the manner in which
all four women had transformed THE TOWN HALL into their own special
cabaret venue. Ms. Andreas said that she would bring the evening
to a close with a song that many women do not attempt because it
is so linked to its original performer, Barbra Streisand. However,
Ms. Andreas was undeterred and rightly so. She belted out a wonderful
rendition of "Don't Rain On My Parade," which was a stirring and
satisfying end to an exceptional afternoon of entertainment.
With Broadway
and Off Broadway ticket prices at an all time high, it was a blessing
to witness such an amazing event for a modest $25 (the cost of balcony
seats for the performance). Donald Smith, THE MABEL MERCER FOUNDATION
(160 East 48th Street - #14U, NYC - 1-212-980-3026 - http://www.mabelmercer.org/)
and the four talented women of song should be very proud of their
accomplishments.
by Brent
Winborn
I
will be preparing one more report on the 13th Annual NYC Mabel Mercer
Foundation Cabaret Convention, which will summarize my impressions
of this year's event, and in the meantime, I look forward to gearing
your comments and thoughts on the reports we presented, as well
as your suggestions for future coverage. Our special thanks to Mr.
Winborn for this comprehensive and well written report.
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