The title of the show is Linda Glick’s Teach Me Tonight Part II. Voila! It’s a thoroughly apt title, for Linda Glick, once a full-time teacher, has the impusle to inform and edify in her DNA. Launching with (what else), “Teach Me Tonight” and swinging into “Raise the Roof (The Wild Party),” the singer powered down and began her narrative—a kind of Socratic discourse, pondering just who is the teacher and who the student. Her teaching experience formed the soul of the show, the set list comprising a range of songs from classic songbook standards to musical theater to contemporary tunes. Most came with its back-story, and as with her singing, were delivered with animation and commitment. The opportunities to enlighten were many, and happily, Glick is a fine teacher. Her stories were interesting and often fun: who knew that so many celebrities that we know and love, such as Sylvester Stallone, Hugh Jackman and Sting, were teachers at one time.
A medley of “You Have to Be Carefully Taught/Teach Your Children Well” came with an explanation of how each came to be written, as well as with the reasons why each contains an important message. Glick recounted the recently repealed, and once problematic, New York City Cabaret Law as a prelude to “Walk Away.” She explained just who the person is at the center of Billy Joel’s song, “James.” While Glick’s research is impeccable, and her voice pleasant, her range is limited. Most of her choices worked for her, but some did not, such as Randy Newman’s “Guilty,” which tripped her up on phrasing and modulating, and “Just One of Those Things” and “When the Sun Comes Out,” which both came across in almost dirge-like tempo. By contrast, an upbeat “Taking a Chance on Love” was a winner. Glick would do well to include a little more swing in her set.
What Glick triumphed at was singing in foreign languages. She taught French and Spanish. Her French renditions of “Pigalle” and “Nobody Wins” were sublime. Her Spanish number, “Adoro,” was magnificent. In all, she’s a good interpreter of the lyric, excelling especially on a sensitive “In the Winter.” Another bright light in the show was an original song with music by Glick’s music director, Ian Herman, and lyrics by the singer. The lilting, melodic “Kaleidoscope” was very French in its rhythm and lyric and pleasing to the ear. Herman played the set with concentration and determination—a bit more assertive than his usual style—cutting loose grandly on a solo in “Take It Back.”
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