By Bart Greenberg***The lights dimmed at the Green Room 42; the band led by expert music director Matt Baker struck up: four instruments sounding like a full band (perhaps one conducted by Mort Lindsey); and then—comes a voice from the dark. Is it an old recording? Is it a certain drag queen? No. And as she comes into the light swinging a mashup of “Get Happy” (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) and “I Feel a Song Coming On” 
(Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields), it’s Rosie Webber making her New York City debut. Not a celebrity impersonator, but very much herself blessed with a huge voice, a purity of tone, and a deliverer of lyrics with all the innate instincts of a fine actress. An Instagram celebrity (the audience was packed with her fans seeing her live for the first time), and veteran of many cruise ship cruises, she openly shared her connections to Judy, including substance abuse battles, romances with bisexual men and most importantly her taste in music. She took the audience by the hand and heart, and long before her second encore demanded by those gathered, she had become a certified cabaret star.
The evening, titled The Show That Got Away, featured a fascinating mix of Garland standards, later songs she might have sung and a few numbers that Webber simply loves. An intriguing choice was “Vincent” (Don McLean) which connected to Judy 
both via the heartbreaking tale of a genius artist and via her husband, director Vincent Minnelli. Another surprise was a song that Webber and her guitarist Christopher Lara (and boyfriend) wrote together, “All About You,” a delightful throwback to the Harry Warren, Johnny Mercer tunes of the ‘40s. (The other terrific back up musicians were bassist Dylan Shamat and drummer Daniel Glass on drums.) Pairing Garland with Stephen Sondheim proved to be a great idea, as the immensely touching and vulnerable “Anyone Can Whistle” demonstrated.
Danny Salles served as the writer and director of the show. He did such a smooth job that his work was mostly invisible and the patter seemed to come from Webber. The only awkwardness when she appeared a bit too dependent on the script and was focused on referring to it rather than keeping going. But this fine collaboration led to major emotional moments in the evening, such as Webber accompanying herself on the piano while blending Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” 
(Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg). Copious tears were shed and she received her first standing ovation of the evening. Another affecting moment was the elevation of the too-often performed duet, “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again” (Milton Ager, Jack Yellen) by matching the star with her mother, Mary Beth Webber. Now, that’s smart cabaret.
The planned encore was a dynamic “Come Rain or Come Shine” (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer), which demonstrated how technology has eliminated mic cords; whatever would Judy have done? But the audience absolutely refused to leave or let the diva exit. Finally surrendering to the demand, a quickly assembled “The Trolley Song” (Hugh Martin, Ralph Blaine) was offered, which was greeted with the fourth (or perhaps fifth) standing ovation. Yes, Rosie Webber is a star.
