By Marilyn Lester****How do you wrap up a fabulous four nights of cabaret? Why, with a blitzkrieg of super talent—a 21-gun salute of singers honoring the 100th birthday of songbook treasure, Alan Jay Lerner. And so, hosted by Jeff Harnar and Andrea Marcovicci, The Night They Invented Champagne: The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner, ended the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s 29th Annual Cabaret Convention on sublimely successful high notes.
The pace was swift, with no-nonsense introductions moving the performers on and off the stage with grace. It wasn’t till the first number was completed—Stearns Matthews singing “On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)” (music by Burton Lane) with perfect technique—that the charming Harnar and Marcovicci entered the stage, elegantly delivering several bars of “You Are All the World to Me” (Burton Lane) before swirling away again. Enter then the first of three men who bring their own piano with them (metaphorically speaking): Steve Ross, who sang a hypnotic, lush and charmingly subdued “The Heather on the Hill” (Frederick Loewe). Shana Farr joined Ross for a duet of “From This Day On” (Frederick Loewe) to be surprised at its completion by the appearance of the evening’s hosts. Farr was presented with the The Donald F. Smith Award, leaving her a bit speechless, but not songless. Farr, to Ross’s accompaniment, powered out a proper “Show Me” (Frederick Loewe).
Another man with piano, Eric Comstock, also had the benefit of a charming and talented lady to partner with, and of course the lady in question was spouse, Barbara Fasano. Together they harmonized with delectable precision to “She (He) Wasn’t You” (Burton Lane). Singly, Fasano sang a longing “Another Autumn” (Frederick Loewe), while Comstock, as is his wont (and as is his strong suit) delivered a witty “The Lusty Month of May” (Frederick Loewe), turning the song on its ear with a wry touch of cynicism and a generous dollop of humor.
The third man with piano was the force of nature Mark Nadler. He is truly one-of-a-kind. His energy and commitment to entertain is like a happy-go-luck freight train barrelling down the track. There’s often something to be learned in a Nadler presentation, and in this case it was the fact that Lerner was an intensely political man. At the time of his death he was working on a statement musical addressing economic inequality, with Kristi Kane and Gerard Kenny. The musical was an adaptation of the 1936 film My Man Godfrey, but was never completed. From it, Nadler sang a cutting “Garbage Isn’t What It Used to Be” with a tap dance interlude! Also vying for the title of “utterly unique” was the consistently delightful Sidney Myer, whose Mae West style of delivery is never-fail charming and funny. With his Sidneyesque intonation, superb timing and measured gestures, his gender-adjusted “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore” (Frederick Loewe) was comic perfection.
Perfection is a word that also applies to Joshua Lance Dixon’s own gender-adjusted “I Could Have Danced All Night” (Frederick Loewe), made all the more sweet by the surprise of his receiving The Julie Wilson Award just as he was about to sing. Collecting himself, he presented a rendition that was a piece of musical art— using vocal dynamics and mood and tempo changes to build a dramatic arc to tell the story.
So many memorable performances comprised the evening. In the jazz realm the very hip Gabrielle Stravelli swung a beautifully phrased “On the Street Where You Live” (Frederick Loewe). Tammy McCann in jazz diva voice offered “Almost Like Being in Love” (Frederick Loewe), while Iris Williams, who has been known to turn a jazz phrase now and again delivered a straight-ahead balladic “I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face.” The comic turns were in force too, with Richard Holbrook’s “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life?” (Burton Lane), a novelty song that suited him, Sally Mayes with a brassy “Get Me to the Church on Time” (Frederick Loewe) and Anita Gillette’s fiery “Just You Wait” (Frederick Loewe).
A quintet of captivating divas rounded out the ode to Lerner: red hot mama Leanne Borghesi with a powerful “No Man Is Worth It” (Charles Strouse), Barbara Brussel with an impassioned “If Ever I Would Leave You” (Frederick Loewe), Penny Fuller with a beautiful “There’s Always One You Can’t Forget” (Charles Strouse), Karen Akers with a sensitive “Here I’ll Stay (With You)” (Kurt Weill) and a dynamic Marta Sanders closing the evening with a touching and powerful “
Toward the end of the evening the two hosts had their turn to shine. Marcovicci with a delicate “Mr. Right” (Kurt Weill) and Harnar with “Come Back to Me” (Burton Lane), riding that wave of entreaty with beseeching zest. For a duet they sang a bittersweet “I Remember It Well” (Frederick Loewe), made so since Marcovicci has announced her retirement from performing after a long and acclaimed career. For a finale, the pair led the entire cast to the stage for a rousing, what else, “The Night They Invented Champagne” (Frederick Loewe), bringing to a close another year’s successful and triumphant Cabaret Convention. Congratulations to Mabel Mercer Foundation Artistic Director KT Sullivan and all those who helped produce this spectacular event.
The evening’s “house band” was pianist Alex Ryeck, bassist Jered Egan and percussionist Dan Gross. Other musicians included pianists James Horan, Tom Nelson and Art Weiss, sax player Jim Piela and violinist Amanda Lo.
Photos above by Natasha Castillo
Photos below by Maryann Lopinto
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