By Marilyn Lester***With a steady flow of martinis delivered from the bar at Pangea, the internationally famous, or perhaps infamous, opera star, Amanda Reckonwith, once again captivated her audience with a voice that wouldn’t stop (there is a joke there, and Amanda would make the most of it if she were writing this piece). As the world’s 
most renowned “Spento” soprano, she has captivated audiences at the club for 15 months, In Residential Care, returning to the stage after a 20-year absence. We’re glad she came back, for her vocal range and many talents are truly awesome.
In this, her last concert of the residency before heading to a new run of shows in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, Reckonwith, with pianist-Music Director, Mark Hartman, delivered a bounty of songs that crossed genres and highlighted her abilities. Much of the show was played/sung to tracks, at first startling for a cabaret act, but the choice soon became unobstrusive and understandable given the structure of the program. Hartman’s piano skills were augmented throughout with his own vocal backups—and his roll as a foil in much of the repartee was priceless. These bon bons were evident right off the bat wi
th the opener of “I Enjoy Being a Girl/Born This Way” (Rodgers, Hammerstein II/Germanotta, Blair, Garibay, Laursen).
Delving into her opera roots, Reckonwith sang “O mio babbino caro” (Puccini), with legit delivery, interrupted by the wrong notes being played by Hartman. More comedy ensued with puns galore, such as an emphasis on the word “gay” in “Broadway” (Bird, Woods, McRae) and a rendition of “Nobody Loves a Fairy Over 40” (LeClerq). Reckonwith also nodded to a rumored Broadway appearance in Chicago, singing “When You’re Good to Mama” (Kander, Ebb). When she sang “I’m Hip,” there was no question.
As a diva must, Reckonwith yielded the stage to Scott Barbarino and the Bev Naps while she made a costume change. Barbarino, back in action with the group after his own lengthy stay away from performing, was in top form. The orginal Bev Naps, a doo-wop group, began back in the day when Barbarino was a singing waiter and bartender at the Grove Street Duplex (hence the connection to the name/term bev nap). Leading Anna 
Anderson and Dylan Berkshire, the set included “You Belong to Me” (Price, King, Stewart) and “Twilight Time” (M. Nevins, A. Nevins, Dunn, Ram). Doo-wap arrangements are more complex than you’d think, and the backups were impressive, giving perfect to support to Barbarino on the melody. We look forward to more of the group around town in the future.
In her glamorously decked out return, Reckonwith sang a song that could have been composed just for her—the devilish and ironic tune from A Connecticut Yankee, “To Keep My Love Alive” (Rodgers, Hart), whose title is a delicious pun. A duet with herself, “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love” (Bernstein, Sondheim) was the capper of a short and sweet part two and was sensationally hilarious.
Besides arrangements by Hartman, the show was written, directed and performed by Reckonwith’s alter ego, David Sabella, who among many credits was one of the reigning Divas of La Gran Scena Opera Company di New York (a parody troupe), and was Mary Sunshine for ten years in the 1996 revival of Chicago. Orchestral tracks were produced by Fred Barton, Colin Freeman and Sabella. Additional patter was by La Gran Scena’s founder, Ira Siff.
