Vickie's Birthday Show Renders Her Ageless!

For decades at this juncture, Vickie Phillips has retained a position as a leading cabaret chanteuse throughout the land, and built an empiric name for herself as a premier interpreter of Jacques Brel, Kurt Weill, Charles Aznavour and Eric Blau, as well as the opus of her director Bob Ost and musical director Gerry Dieffenbach. And while she is always impressive to the utmost while interpreting same, her most recent effort at Don't Tell Mama on April 24th was a grand celebration. It didn't just commemorate her birthday, but it was equally an occurrence most rare in that she explored the songbook of so many other composers and lyricists (including herself), to blissful result.

After opening the show and socking the crowd with a one-two punch of Neil Diamond's "Songs Of Life" and "Celebrate" by Steve Lawrence, Phillips slips into the Dory Previn composition "Twenty Mile Zone" with a comical-country flavor as though she's just donned her favorite robe. Dennis Tracy's "Sho' Biz" proves a marvelous match for its stupendous lyrics, and she continues the theme with both "Humphrey Bogart" by Lieber and Stoller and then the Craig Carnelia chestnut "Old Movies." She follows with her self-written "Love & Illusion" (which should and could be an easy contender in the Best New Song category at the 2011 MAC Awards) with a guest appearance by Cheryl-Ann Allen (currently also wowing cabaret folk with her evening as Sophie Tucker at Don't Tell Mama, with an upcoming performance on May 21st at 7pm) and Joyce Hitchcock on the piano with a duet of "My Childhood," which Brel always claimed was his favorite composition.

As if the evening wasn't already as rare and delicious as a homemade strawberry pie, Phillips tears into a Dietrich-esque take on "Black Denim Trousers," with marvelously-humorous vocal input by Dieffenbach, and then makes even more of the gentleman by once again rendering a stunning version of his song, "He Taught Me To Dance." A tribute to her mentor, the legendary Elly Stone, is sprung forth with "Good Morning" by Comden and Green, and then a previously unannounced special guest assumes the stage, in this case the one and only Sidney Myer, who slaughtered the crowd with "Look For The Bare Necessities." After the Ost/Dieffenbach collaboration "A Song Is Like A Friend," she winds up with Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's "In My Own Lifetime" from The Rothschilds, where nary a dry eye could be found in the packed house. And never shy when demanded an encore, first she renders Brel's classic "Marieke" (which she dedicated to your humble reporter, for having taught her the Flemish pronunciation of the chorus several seasons ago) and ends perfectly with another self-written number, a wonderful tale of affirmation entitled "Time." It must also be noted that technical director Bobby Kneeland once and again piled genius onto the presentation of this miraculous evening of song.

Vickie Phillips will return to Don't Tell Mama on Saturday, May 29th at 6pm. PLEASE make it your business to attend, for this an evening that simply cannot disappoint; it is the very essence of cabaret education.