By Bart Greenberg***Vocalist Lucille Carr-Kaffashan has a great talent for grace. For peace. In Breathe, she imbued her program of “songs of holding on and letting go” with these qualities, as well as her gentle humor and her fine vocals. Directed by David Hilder, with a lovely, light touch, this was indeed an illuminating afternoon at Don’t Tell Mama.
Kicking off with a spirited blend of two Irving Berlin tunes, “Let Yourself Go” and “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” (her dealing with the word “hot” was truly funny), the musical inventions of the program were evident. A slow, meditative version of “The Gambler” (Don Schlitz) proved very moving, and a soaring “I’m Flying” (Moose Charlap, Carolyn Leigh) peppered with bits of “Defying Gravity” (Stephen Schwartz) was an elevated delight. And, of course, music director Jeff Cubetta had a great deal to do with these pleasures, accompanied by a topnotch team of bassist Matt Scharfglass and drummer Don Kelly.
A very moving segment of the show was a trio of songs about letting go of broken relationships: “Million Reasons” (Stefani Germanotta [aka Lady Gaga], Hillary Lindsey, Mark Ronson, Michael Tucker), “Flowers” (Miley Cyrus, Gregory He
in, Michael Pollack) and “The Heart of the Matter” (Mike Campbell, Don Henley, Danny Kortchmor). The fact that at least two of the songs came from unlikely sources for a cabaret show added to their power as interpreted by Carr-Kaffashan. To balance the darkness of these selections she came up with the very funny “Regretting What I Said” (Christine Lavin) delivered with a sassy attitude.
Another trio of songs movingly explored the experience of being an empty nester. “Landside” (Stevie Nicks) included a great spot for a bass feature. The fragility of time was explored with “It Won’t Be Like This for Long” (Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Darius Rucker) and the depth of parenthood was presented with “My Father” (Judy Collins). To bring the show to a climax, Carr-Kaffashan offered a serene and powerful “Hold on Tight” (Meg Flather). Her emotional honestly throughout the program was impressive and easily brought the audience along for the ride.
Photos by Bart Greenberg
