By Michael Barbieri***It’s always a treat to see an artist make their New York cabaret debut, especially one as good as Cindy Firing. In this case, the treat was twice as sweet, because not only is Firing incredibly likable, with a superb voice and tremendous stage presence, but her sparkling show, You and I, pays tribute to the legendary Barbara Cook! As a friend of mine remarked when the house lights came up after the performance, [Cindy Firing] is a star!
A resident of Chicago, Firing’s first solo cabaret endeavor, Brass Ring, has had successful runs at Davenport’s and in Philadelphia at Dino’s Backstage. She’s appeared at Drew’s on Halstead, the Victory Gardens Theatre, Theatre 773, and Park West. Additionally, she’s the Concert Program Director for the Orvieto Musica Presents concert series, which offers free concerts to the Chicago Lakeview neighborhood. You and I has already had sold out performances in Chicago and Firing was thrilled to bring her tribute to NYC!
This show traces the life and career of Barbara Cook, the Broadway and cabaret star, known for her lyric soprano and ingénue roles. She came to prominence in the 1950s and went on to have a 70-year career, winning a TONY Award along the way for her performance in The Music Man.
In Firing’s opening medley, she essentially introduced herself and set up the show’s concept, demonstrating
her charm and vocal prowess within the first few moments. A snippet of “Stars” (Janis Ian) spoke to her readiness and nervousness. That was combined with “Don’t Look At Me” (S. Sondheim) and “I Can Cook Too” (L. Bernstein), with parody lyrics by Firing and her accompanist, John Cook. A few of the standout jokes in her version of “I Can Cook Too,” involved the phrase “my chops are warmed up,” which was followed by a stunning high note, as if to prove the point! She also sang “I too was in Oklahoma!, I too was in Music Man…” but added that her appearances were actually in her hometown of Conshohocken! Her captivating combination of honesty and humor won me over instantly.
Firing set up many of her songs with bits of Barbara Cook’s personal history, which informed her choices beautifully. The story of Cook’s parents’ divorce led into Firing’s dark rendition of “Another Mr. Right Left” (J. Sheffer, D. Zippel). Firing told of Cook’s own failed marriage and subsequent difficulty finding work. Rather than dwell on the negative, however, Firing gave us an optimistic medley of “Live Alone and Like It” (S. Sondheim) and “Frim Fram Sauce” (R. Evans, J. Ricardel). Here, she punched up the lyric to bring out the humor, making it cute and funny, using a cocktail for a great visual button at the end. We also heard how Cook eventually lost custody of her son, partially due to her struggle with alcoholism and depression. This led into a stunning pairing of Sondheim’s “Loving You” and “Losing My Mind,” which was so real, so emotional, that Firing seemed to be living the sadness and melancholy Cook herself must’ve felt.
A true highlight of the evening was a medley of two of Ms. Cook’s most well-known songs. First, Firing sat at the piano and actually played along with her accompanist for “Goodnight My Someone,” from Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man. She then crossed center stage to tackle the notoriously difficult “Glitter and Be Gay,” from Bernstein’s Candide. Not only did she sing the aria, nailing those high E-flats, but she peppered the number with information of the song’s genesis and how Cook helped shape it. Not at all an easy task, but Firing handled it like a champ!
Of course, no tribute to Barbara Cook would be complete without mentioning her longtime musical partner and accompanist, Wally Harper. Firing gave us a humorous “It’s Better With a Band” (W. Harper, D. Zippel), during which she turned upstage to acknowledge her own (nonexistent) band. She also sang Harper’s arrangement of “You and I” (L. Bricusse), which featured remarkably complex piano work from John Cook, under a beautifully simple vocal from Firing, making the number that much sweeter and more emotional.
Perhaps the nicest surprise came at the close of the evening, when Firing gave us Sondheim’s “They Ask Me Why I Believe in You,” a song the composer wanted Ms. Cook to sing more
than any of his others. Cook was known to perform the number without using a microphone, so as the perfect culmination of this tribute show, Firing did the same. Barbara would’ve approved!
You and I was a marvelous show. Not only is Firing a genuine talent, but for this NYC debut, she was surrounded by a phenomenal team; Musical Director and pianist John Cook’s arrangements were sublime, J.P. Perreaux worked his usual magic on lights and sound, and director Marshall Mays’ staging was fluid and always visually interesting, with Firing using the entire stage to her best advantage. Yes, Cindy Firing is a star and I hope she graces the New York cabaret scene again soon!
Photos by Michael Barbieri
