Stephanie Watts Powerfully Took New York City by Storm at Pangea -

Watts by Cate Valcic — Photo by Cate Valcic

By Bart Greenberg***Scanning the packed room at the intimate club, Pangea, Stephanie Watts extolled, “All my world are colliding here – I didn’t think this would happen until my funeral!” Making her New York City cabaret debut, the powerful soprano charted her entwined personal and professional lives from her childhood in Connecticut to her years in chilly Park City, Utah to steamy Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The journey was plotted clearly through her show, And Just Like That, with well-chosen songs to illustrate her travels. Watts’ top-notch team of music director David Maiocco, who also provided excellent vocal back up, and director, the accomplished David Sabella, served her well.

Kicking off the show with a powerfully delivered “I want” song was “Breakaway” (Jackie DeShannon, Sharon Sheeley), Watts continued with illustrative numbers with appropriately-adapted lyrics, woven with clever spoken dialogue, such as “The Story” (Phil Hanseroth) and “Wild Night” (Van Morrison). Her meeting her husband of many years, Conner, was celebrated with “This Magic Moment” (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman), and their destination wedding with “Mexico” (James Taylor).

Her relocation to the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta allowed Watts to make her stage debut in a production of A Chorus Line there, as well as her first venture into dancing. She performed “At the Ballet” (Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban), and included Maggie’s monologue within the number, proving herself a fine actress as well as singer. Watts also had a five-year run in Mamma Mia!, and her “The Winner Takes It All” (Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus) furthered this impression, bringing a fresh approach filled with subtle and powerful emotions. A delightful rendition of “Theme from New York, New York” (John Kander, Fred Ebb) brought the show to her current life and an upbeat ending—or should have.

The evening then went into an unexpected detour with a series of moody, doubtful numbers. While still well-performed, they brought the energy way down – perhaps it would have been better to have had them spaced out throughout the show. “Dear Insecurity” (Brandy Clark), “The Climb” (Jessie Alexander, Jon Mabe) and “Home” (Larry Kerchner, attributed to Charlie Smalls) and a few more rather smudged together. The drop-off of energy was made evident when Watts rebounded with “If They Could See Me Now” (Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields), far better material for the upbeat and funny star. Except for this slight stumble, Watts proved herself a very welcome addition to the New York cabaret scene, and will hopefully make return visits.