By Bart Greenberg****The multi-award-winning soprano Dawn Derow returned to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with The House That Built Me, a program that was by turns nostalgic, sentimental and very entertaining. Reflecting on her youth on Cape Cod with a loving, chaotic Italian-American family—where there was always music—Derow shared stories that evoked both emotion and music, creating a most satisfying evening. Guided by the classy and light of touch director Jeff Harnar, and with strong support from music director Matt Baker, guitarist Peter Calo and bassist Steve Doyle, the diva offered up a sparkling show.
Derow easily shifted in style from country, “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert) with her own skillful guitar accompaniment, to pop standards, a spirited “Mambo Italiano” (Bob Merrill), accompanied by a traditional Italian apron dance involving some eager audience participation, to opera (a thrilling “Che il bel sogno di doretta” (Giacomo Puccini) in conjunction with a lovely montage of family photographs. There was also a second hysterical country western number, a tribute to her beloved father, “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore” (Loretta Lynn with special biographical lyrics by Richard Eisenberg) and a hard-driving excursion into funkiness with “Barbies” (Alecia Beth Moore aka Pink, Julia Michaels, Ross Galon, Jakob Jerlstrom and Ludvig Soderberg), which grew out of a delicate “My Little Girl,” the second section of “Soliloquy” (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II).
Clever juxtaposition of material was especially exemplified in the show-stopping medley of show tunes (her father’s favorite genre) with “The Broad’s Way Medley” (arranged by Baker, Harnar and the singer herself) highlighting many of the naughty ladies of musical theater, plunging from “I Enjoy Being a Girl” (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) into “Aldonza” (Joe Darion and Mitch Leigh), “Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm” (Frank Loesser), into “The Miller’s Son” (Stephen Sondheim) and more. Derow never missed a beat or a vocal switch, making each character distinct, thereby catching every shifting mood. With The House That Built Me she proved without a doubt that she is a star.
All photos by Suzanne Fiore
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