By Andrew Poretz***Vocalist Amy Beth Williams is a Bistro Award-winning performer who finished up 2024 with three performances of this, her latest show, In Reverse, at Don’t Tell Mama, accompanied by music director and pianist Ian Herman, bassist Ritt Henn and 
drummer David Silliman. (Interestingly, the very tall Henn sat for the entire concert; at his height, his double bass could pass for an oversized cello.)
Who doesn’t like a good time travel show? In Reverse, directed by Tanya Moberly, had an interesting premise: using songs, some with months or seasons in their titles, to tell a year’s story in reverse. Those tunes, sandwiched between an opening and closing number, served to anchor the other songs. The surprisingly eclectic choices included some fascinating picks of vintage pop, new pop, classic show tunes and a couple of standards.
Dressed entirely in black, Williams opened with Maroon 5’s “Memories” (Adam Levine). The song has a structure similar to that of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” which itself could be the perfect appetizer for reminiscing. With a strong, expressive voice, Williams sang “Once Upon a December” (Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens), and on Paul Simon’s “Hazy Shade of Winter, her interesting take really opened up the song’s ly
rics.
In Ian Herman’s hands, clever musical quotes added color to songs such as “When October Goes” (Barry Manilow, Johnny Mercer) with hints of “Autumn Leaves” in his piano solo. Williams eschewed the usual titles for September with the old pop hit, “See You in September” (Sid Wayne, Sherman Edwards) and turned it into a jazz waltz. On Taylor Swift’s (with Jack Aaronoff) hit “August,” her interpretation proved that Swift’s music can resonate far from the ‘tween girl crowd. Williams’ delivery was compact—saying more with a glance, a stance or a look than many performers can with an entire acting arsenal.
Herman, an excellent pianist, had a solo piece for June, using “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein) as a bluesy intro to “Memphis in June” (Hoagy Carmichael, Paul Francis Webster). Working her way into spring, Herman’s take on the World War I-era “Will You Remember?” (Sigmund Romberg) 
was performed as a cute, oom-pah waltz, which had Williams flaunting her soprano operetta chops. Moving from oom-pah, she performed “We’ll Meet in Spring” (Peter Daniels) as if it were a Weimar cabaret number, while “March Winds and April Showers” (Walter G. Samuels, Leonard Whitcup, Teddy Powell) could have passed for a 1925 vaudeville number that made one want to break into a a tap dance.
Williams closed with the pithy “I Remember” (Molly Drake), a funny contrast of perspectives. Williams is a good singer and musical storyteller. She is funny, with a droll, deadpan affect, though in this show, she kept her patter to a minimum. Aside from setting up the premise, and a few anecdotes sprinkled here and there, she really let the songs, her delivery and her expressions tell the story.
Encore performances of In Reverse are scheduled for Friday, February 14 and Tuesday, March 18 at Don’t Tell Mama. For more information, visit donttellmamanyc.com
Photos: by Andrew Poretz
