By BART GREENBERG**** Old friends get together for an evening of songs. Two wrote them. Two sing them. Sounds like nothing more than a pleasant evening. But when the two who wrote them are two of the most gifted creators of songs that tell stories and create vivid characters. And the two singers are consummate actors with pleasing voices to tell these tales. There were no mistakes about Beautiful Mistake, the most recent return to Pangea for Austin Pendleton and Barbara Bleier singing the songs of John Bucchino and Amanda McBroom.
This charming pair of old friends has chemistry and a lovely balance of personalities. She tends to be a bit flighty, he tends to be a bit of a curmudgeon. But she also brings heart and passion to her lyrics and when he graces her and the audience with a periodic smile, it is a gift indeed because an Austin Pendleton smile possesses a warmth that reaches his eyes and warms the heart.
Bleier, who does far more of the talking, relates how she first encountered each of the gifted songwriters and how their friendships blossomed. Unlike some such stories, these feel truly genuine, reinforced by the access the performers had to the entire song catalogues of both writers, including some very obscure work as well as their best-known compositions.
Inevitably in an Amanda McBroom program, “The Rose” and “Erroll Flynn” were included. But they were each given a slight twist in delivery with the first performed as a trio with Musical Director Paul Greenwood also joining in, and the second sung by Pendleton rather than Bleier – quite interesting to hear a male vocalist taking on a song usually delivered by a woman. Also familiar to theatergoers was the moving “Coney Island,” taken from John Bucchino’s Broadway score for A Catered Affair and given a touching delivery again by Pendleton.
Of course, one of the major themes of the evening was love songs: joyous, bitter, and bittersweet. The title number of the show, “Beautiful Mistake,” a rare duet by the two featured songwriters, is certainly ambivalent about the pleasures of romance. Two Bucchino tunes, “If I Every Say I’m Over You” and “I’ve Learned to Let Things Go,” presented in tandem, deal with different aspects of the end of an affair. Another intriguing (and smart) pairing is McBroom’s “Wheels” and Bucchino’s “Taking the Wheel.” And Bleier soars in a highly personal song about “Carnegie Hall,” featuring the unique collaboration of Bucchino and Michael Feinstein.
Throughout the evening, the singers and the composers were well supported by Greenwood, both through his expressive playing and his strong additional vocals. The direction was by Barbara Maier Gustern, who clearly believes in keeping things simple, honesty and direct.
Beautiful Mistake is an evening based on sensitivity, compassion and intelligence. Make no mistake about it.
Pangea is a restaurant/cabaret located at 178 2nd Ave. in New York City. For upcoming performance schedules, check out the website at Pangeanyc.com.
I FOUND THIS REVIEW WANTING. tHE COVERAGE OF CRITICS SUCH AS LARRY MYERS SEEMS SO MUCH MORE INFORMED aND INSIGHTFUL. hIS PIECES RESONATE WITH A NEW YORK TIMES QUALLITY-EXCEPT BETTER
Dear Bart,
Thank you so much for coming to our show, and fo this beautiful, thoughtful review. You really “got” what we were trying to do with this program, and, I think, really got what the composers were wanting to say with their amazing work. We so appreciate that! Best,