By Maryann Lopinto***Cabaret stalwart Karen Mason and singer-musician Louis Rosen reprised a show at Chelsea Table + Stage that they had originally presented at the Duplex in 2016. This reunion, now called Ages Since the Last Time, featured songs from “then” and new ones for “now.” Chicagoan Rosen was a friend of Mason’s late musical director, Brian Lasser, who met her in 1978 at a club named “Lawrence of Oregano” where Mason was a singing hostess. With that, a new friendship was formed.
There were duets (“Love of Song”) with Rosen on guitar as well as piano accompaniment, largely for the songs written by Lasser (“Tear Up the Town Tonight,” written for her, “I’m Becoming My Mother” and “What I Saw,” written for Jeff Harnar). Other tunes included Rosen’s “Ages Since the Last Time” and “Troubled Children.” These songs were especially sensitive and heartfelt. Rosen also wrote “Notre Dame is Burning” in response to the recent, tragic fire. The duo sang a medley about both coming to New York, starting with Fred Fisher’s 1922 classic, “Chicago,” and closed with “Dinnertime at Jimmy’s,” about a favorite Brooklyn restaurant that fell victim to the pandemic.
Photos by Maryann Lopinto
