By Marilyn Lester***Impresario Scott Siegel does what impresarios do best—which is to produce shows modest to grand with consummate ease and expertise. In this delightful outing at home base, Feinstein’s/54 Below, the subject of the evening was Barbra Streisand, “the greatest-selling female vocalist in the world.” This special concert leaned to the distaff, with five outstanding female vocalists, plus Tony-nominee Willy Falk, a Siegel go-to who adds to any production of Siegel’s with his talent and versatility.
And so the The Famous Songs Of Barbra Streisand In Concert! began with one of Bab’s big hits, the song that made her. It was perfectly sung by Kristin Dausch, who possesses a big voice well-suited to none other than Funny Girl’s “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill). Later, Dausch belted “Cornet Man,” also from that same show. Likewise, the powerful voice of Meaghan Sands ably handled a song written expressly for Streisand, “Gotta Move,” (Peter Matz), as well as Yentl’s “Where Is It Written?” (Michel Legrand, Marilyn and Alan Bergman).
Anyone who’s been to a Siegel show knows the successful format, long-ago created by the man who writes, directs and hosts these events—and that is a judicious sprinkling of relevant information that sets up each song. The facts and bits about the woman who’s sold 145 million records, with hits spanning decades, was both fun and enlightening. Two performing veterans with a far-reaching knowledge of Streisand handled primarily ballads, with nuance and sharply-honed interpretive skills. Deborah Tranelli brought freshness to the oft-performed “The Way We Were” (Marvin Hamlisch, Marilyn and Alan Bergman) and aced a beautiful “Isn’t This Better” (John Kander, Fred Ebb) from Funny Lady. Also from this show, Falk was in the zone with a deeply heartfelt “If I Love Again.” His second number, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” (Michel Legrand, Marilyn and Alan Bergman) likewise hit a grand slam out of the park.
If there’s an adorability scale for performance, talented Lianne Marie Dobbs ranks high on it. She’s fearless on stage, giving her all vocally, with animation and charm. She elevated the old chestnut “Evergreen” (Barbra Streisand, with Paul Williams), with sincerity and applied her acting skills to a meaningful and captivating “He Touched Me” (Milton Schafer, Ira Levin). Last but very far from least, was a relatively new addition to the Siegel stable of fabulous performers, jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli. With an inherent sense of swing and always impeccablephrasing, it’s no wonder that Stravelli’s rise to the top of the tree in the jazz world was a blue chip certainty. Her delivery of “Lover, Come Back to Me” (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) juiced up this 1920s standard; and her quiet several bars of “On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)” (Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner) exploding into swing, popped that tune into an interpretive stratosphere.
Music director, pianist and orchestra Ron Abel had his work cut out for him with this wonderful, yet demanding program. Of course he applied his own extraordinary talents to spin out effortless accompaniment to all. Most delightfully, we got to see his formidable jazz chops this time around on Stravelli’s two numbers.
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