By Andrew Poretz***After some years, New Zealander, Ali Harper, made a return appearance at Don’t Tell Mama (with some ten Kiwi family, friends and fans in tow), arriving at the Brick Room stage for her delightful show, directed 
by Lina Koutrakas. Harper had come to town mainly for the recent New York Cabaret Convention, and thus organized appearances at Don’t Tell Mama as well as presenting an original piece at the United Solo Festival.
The singer is an award-winning entertainer, a vocalist and actress, whose radiance serves to make her irresistible, an attribute combined with acting ability and a superb vocal instrument spell star quality. For an opener she sang a robust Motown medley, accompanied by fellow Kiwi, music director-pianist, Matthew Everingham and bassist Lauren Hendryx. With “The Look of Love” (Burt Bacharach, Hal David), Harper slowed down the tempo, with a rubato opening and some brilliant voicings by Everingham— a lovely rendition of this classic tune, which she made her own.
Harper is a consummate storyteller with finely-tuned acting chops. In songs such as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice), she embodied the role of Evita. The singer also made interesting choices in songs such as Carole King’s “It’s Too Late,” again slowing the tempo down and revealing the number’s emotional underpinning. And in her narrative, her marvelous tale of staying at Doris Day’s hotel and an opportunity to speak with the star was funny and enchanting, including even singing a few lines of “Secret Love” to Day, who was impressed. She also included funny impressions of Americans encountered in her journeys.
In a segment describing some of the shows she’s written and performed in, particularly tribute shows, Harper
sang snippets of songs in character, with impeccable impressions. Her late-period Billie Holiday impression was perfection, and it was almost surreal to hear her invoke such distinctly different voices as Maria Callas, Patsy Cline and Edith Piaf. She performed Piaf’s seminal “Non, je ne regrette rien” (Charles Dumont, Michel Vaucaire) with great power and verve.
Judy’s Encore, Harper’s show at the United Solo Festival imagines Judy Garland making a triumphant return to Australia years after her disastrous appearance there. In a medley from that show, Harper nailed the Garland personality, mannerisms and angst, as well as the voice—the biggest highlight of the set.
An intriguing musical choice was the Fleetwood Mac tune, “Songbird” (Christine McVie), sung beautifully with a strong emotional connection; Harper brought the listener into the story. She closed out the evening with a pair of traditional New Zealand songs, with her Kiwis singing along from the audience. An encore of Carole King’s “Beautiful” was a perfect concluding choice for a beautiful show. Here’s hoping Harper makes a return appearance to these shores sooner than later.
Photos by Michael Lee Stever
