By Bart Greenberg***In a return to Don’t Tell Mama, The Inkwell Singers performed a sincere and heartfelt tribute to their moms, titled Sunrise, Sunset, a very varied set of songs chosen to honor a very varied trio of mothers. Delivered in a combination of quartets, duets and solos, that dynamic kept the evening moving forward with an assortment of moods and materials. By the end of the show, the audience knew 
who each member of the group was, and who each mother was as well.
The Inkwell Singers are made up of husbands Andy Rice and Matthew Schermerhorn, and sisters Daniela and Kara Masciangelo. They were backed up by a major band, including music director David Shenton (piano, violin), Micah Burgess (guitar), Mark Wade (bass), Ben Saporito (drums) and Laura Bontreger (cello). All played beautifully and added much atmosphere to the songs. What was also impressive was that these musicians managed to never overwhelm the singers in such close quarters, plus, considering the space left on the stage, the vocalists also navigated well, moving off and on the platform with little awkwardness.
The foursome did very well with their group vocals, establishing some lovely harmonies on numbers such as “Good Morning Starshine” (Galt MacDermot, James Rado, Gerome Ragni), the Italian folk song “Bella Ciao,” and the lively ABBA tune, “Fernando” (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus). As to the solos, there 
was a great deal of contrast in the 20-song set (perhaps a bit too many), and a great deal to enjoy despite some vocal uncertainties along the way.
Rice favored show tunes of the Golden Era, including “Something Wonderful” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) and “Marian the Librarian” (Meredith Willson). While he occasionally struggled with top notes, he showed a fine flair for acting the lyrics. Schermerhorn also dabbled in theater songs with a very moving “Try to Remember” (Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones) and a rare Jerry Herman comedy number, “Confession to a 5th Ave. Mom.” Together, the two gentlemen went further afield, with an ersatz madrigal called “The Bramble and the Rose” (Barbara Keith), which was a part of their commitment ceremony, and a rather sappy pop song, “Turn Around” 
(Malvina Reynolds, Alan Greene, Harry Belafonte).
The sisters shared some delightful stories of scheming to get their urban Mom to the suburbs when they were teens (it didn’t work). Their choices in music leaned more toward folk and country, with some contemporary rock mixed in (the latter may not have been the best idea). They dueted on James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind” and Buddy Holly’s “That Will Be the Day” (Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Norman Petty). Daniela offered a heartfelt “Candle on the Water” (Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn) and Kara dueted with Schermerhorn on “If You Could Read My Mind” (Gordon Lightfoot).
Bringing the show to an end with the Carpenters’ version of the Sesame Street song, “Sing” (Joe Raposo), a highly appropriate choice, and with the quartet inviting the sold-out audience to join in, the assembled were sent out in a very happy mood.
