By Andrew Poretz***When celebrated cabaret chanteuse Maude Maggart makes her annual New York appearance, her faithful fans flock to Birdland. Maggart, a New York cabaret star w
ho moved to the West Coast some years ago, also performed in the Mabel Mercer Foundation Cabaret Convention last month.
Maggart brought an entirely new show, Strangers, to a sold-out room filled with cabaret royalty. Her longtime mentor, Andrea Marcovicci, sat front and center. The singer and her accompanists (musical director-pianist Gerald Sternbach and guitarist-cellist Yair Evnine), arrived to the stage wearing “New York black.”
Maggart has a voice that might be described as having a nonstandard beauty to it. She has a whimsical, wonderful way about her and has an almost ethereal affect that is quite effective for her style, her song choices and her very personal interpretations. The songs were mainly about strangers, often with direct references to them. She opened with “The Wayfaring Stranger,” a m
elancholy, evocative story song. It’s a choice that might raise eyebrows if performed by just about any other performer, but felt just right in Maggart’s hands. She described it as a mid-18th-century ballad about ambling towards death. It had a country western feel, with Evnine plucking his cello as if it were a double bass. “
Taking to a stool and addressing Sternbach as if confessing to the bartender, Maggart sang “If I Knew Now What I Knew Then,” a rather obscure song from the 1966 Broadway flop Pousse-Café, (Duke Ellington, Marshall Barer). She showcased her soprano voice with a great arrangement of “Getting to Know You” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II), along with a wonderful story and what seemed to be a sly political dig at the “undecideds,” disguised as a Halloween joke: “If you’re still sort of teetering between orange and black, I’d say black is a lot less scary.”
Maggart is clearly a fan of obscure songs by lyricist Marshall Barer, who was probably most famous for Once Upon a Mattress and the “Mighty Mouse” television theme song. (If only Andy Kaufman were alive to open for her!). Her take on “Teeny Tiny” (music by David Ross), a song about strangers meeting, was adorable and funny. She performed much of this in a little girl’s voice, with a cadence out of a Danny Kaye number. Singing “Que Sera, Sera” (Jay Livington, Ray Evans) Maggart stopped at the ch
orus, and compared the message of “Whatever will be, will be” to “Is that all there is,” questioning, “Is that really the best advice? It is what it is?” Yet this contemplation merely served as a preamble to “Hello, Little Girl” (Stephen Sondheim). Maggart alternated between the seemingly sweet message of “Que Sera, Sera” with the macabre lyrics of “Hello, Little Girl,” the Wolf’s greeting to Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. This pairing came off brilliantly.
“Love Song to a Stranger” (Joan Baez) was unlike anything this writer has ever experienced at Birdland. Here, singing about how long it’s been since she’s shared her twin bed with a stranger, Maggart sensually touched her face and hair and even the piano. She prowled the stage with slow, languorous movements, slowly building to a palpable sense of sexuality and longing. She sat on the stage floor, approaching Evnine’s cello as if it had a phallic aura, gazing lovingly at his hands while he played—it was a torrid, handwritten love letter come to life.
A wonderful choice was “Werewolf” by Maggart’s Grammy Award-winning sister, the pop star, Fiona Apple. The song had something of an Irish lilt to it, and Maggart sang it beautifully with a cello ba
cking. Maggart paired “Werefolf” with Bonnie Rait’s song “Just Like That,” the song that beat Apple’s at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Sung from the perspective of a woman who tracked down the man who received her late son’s heart, as Maggart put it, this is the ultimate gift you can do for a stranger. Her singing was exquisite here, with a spare arrangement consisting of a very simple, repetitive guitar riff. Her rendition was tear-inducing for this reviewer.
The finale had wonderful surprise guest appearances by singer-songwriters Julie Gold and Christine Lavin for Gold’s huge, 1987 hit song, “From a Distance” (made famous by Bette Midler). Gold and Lavin accompanied on piano and guitar, respectively, while Maggart sang the number. This closer garnered a standing ovation and a true encore, “Kiss and Say Goodbye” (McGarrigle Sisters).
If only Strangers wasn’t a single outing by Maggart here in New York; it’s a show well worth seeing, especially to search out if you’re planning an LA trip any time soon. Otherwise, keep October 2025 in mind; Maggart will be back for her annual New York City appearance.
Photos by Andrew Poretz
