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Showing posts with label Amy Beth Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amy Beth Williams. Show all posts
Everyone loves Amy, or so it seemed Wednesday night at the event Once in Love with Amy when the cabaret community came together to benefit the singer, college instructor and New York sweetheart recovering from surgery after being struck by a car that ran a red light.
There were so many amazing performances starting with the benefit's organizer and our night's emcee, Mr Kevin Scott Hall, who opened the evening singing "If I Can Help Somebody." The line-up of love included multiple MAC and Bistro Awards winners; Broadway star Raissa Katona Bennett and Adam B. Shapiro of HBO's The Normal Heart. Mama's manager, Sidney Meyer, even took to the stage to entertain with a camp rendition of the Marlene Dietrich song, "I May Never Go Home Any More." Everybody's favorite cabaret accompanist/musical director, Darryl Kojak was masterfully on piano during most acts involved.
It was wonderful meeting many of these talented people after the show. So many highlights! Amy's Vocal/acting students fom Manhattan College's Wagner School of Music blew everybody away with their fresh-faced Glee-like rendition of selections from Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.
Cabaret stalwarts Vickie Phillips (singing "Life Story"), Tanyas Holt and Moberly ("Laughing Matters" and Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," respectively), Donna Elliott ("Too Marvelous for Words"), Laurie Krauz's vampish/campish "Send Me a Man," Kailey Wynan's "Brave" and on and on! They showed up with heartfelt love and powerful pipes as part of this epic effort in support of Amy.
Cabaret critic Rob Lester delivered a comic monolog that was hilarious if a bit long-winded.
An amazing night of the stars of NYC cabaret paying homage to a clearly moved and grateful Ms Williams. More photo ops posted below:
Kevin and Vickie Phillips at left. Below: Raissa Katona Bennett, Ron Giles and I, Tanya Moberly, WTC Fans of Amy.
Amy Beth Williams appeared at Don't Tell Mama, the venerable cabaret on West 46th Street's Restaurant Row, in a new show entitled Crazy to Love You. The Leonard Cohen song of that name opens the act and deftly conveys the theme of love lost for her 17-song set. The numbers are sometimes saucy, sometimes sweet, both modern and classic, but always conveyed with sincerity and a crystal-clear coloratura voice that can be powerful or subtle, depending on what is required of the material.
The 2012 Bistro Award winner was at the top of her game in her recent act, whether singing "Autumn Leaves" in French and English or the clever "The Art Teacher" by Rufus Wainright. Her renditions of "That Old Feeling" and "I Cover the Waterfront" were extremely poignant, the latter 1933 tune in a medley with the 2009 "When the Wind Blows Up." Janis Ian's "She Must Be Beautiful" was especially heart-rending as interpreted.
Amy's gamut of emotions ran from camp hilarity to stirring sympathy throughout Crazy to Love You, and she was received enthusiastically by her audience that included dynamic NYC cabaret veteran (also a Bistro Award winner) Vickie Phillips (returning to Don't Tell Mama May 24, June 7 and two dates in July). The set included songs by Irving Berlin and by The Puppini Sisters, by Johnny Mercer as well as Melanie, mostly with great success. I felt that only "Can't Smile Without You," popularized by Barry Manilow and arranged very slowly here, misfired because it felt burdened by such gravitas. It's best bouncy.
Largely, the show was wonderfully arranged, however, by music director Darryl Kojak who accompanied Ms Williams on piano while Will Holshouser provided hauntingly soulful accompaniment on accordion. Bistro and MAC Award winner Tanya Moberly directed with aplomb, noticeably strengthening Amy's stage presence. Next time, a little more patter might matter as Amy is charmingly disarming when she engages us between musical numbers.
Be on the look-out, New York, when Amy Beth Williams returns with this show. She is a perfect model of why cabaret is one of NYC's most precious and lively arts. Her encore for the night was Pink's "Glitter in the Air." Indeed there was.
Life seemed to pose a personal statement to me as I attended the last night of Marilyn Maye's current engagement at 54 Below entitled "Mayeden Voyage." My past as a disco bunny was represented by what lay above the elegant, crowded room -- the now-defunct disco, Studio 54 -- and my mature present was there with the show and my renewed embrace of New York City cabaret.
I last saw Marilyn Maye at the 28th Annual Bistro Awards (March 4), introducing her friend, award-winner Lainie Kazan, to the stage. The banter between these two women was hilarious. I had the chance to meet Ms Maye after the show and told her I thought she and Kazan had a very promising comedy act in the making should she choose to change the direction of her career. "Oh, baby," Ms Maye grinned, "You know it!"
A Bistro Awards recipient herself (2012), Marilyn Maye, who, according to Wikipedia, turns 85 in April, took to the stage in an all-red outfit comprised of slacks and a serape-styled top with fringe and much bling. She was initially plagued by microphone malfunctions; no less than three mikes were brought to the stage. This gave the star time to entertain us with patter, soft shoe and contemplate going unplugged. In true diva fashion, she made a second entrance to the stage to a standing ovation from the packed house, every bit the trouper and superstar. Her trio -- piano, bass, drums -- provided fantastic support and guidance of the highest caliber.
Amy Beth Williams photo courtesy of broadwayworld.com
The adoring crowd, captivated by Ms Maye's cleverness, sometimes ribald sense of humor and ability to think on her feet and perform high kicks, as much as by her unparalleled voice, included Erv Raible, Terese Genecco, Shaynee Rainbolt (who I had the chance to speak with after the show) and Amy Beth Williams (who studies with Marilyn Maye), whom I had the pleasure to sit with during the performance.
Called "the greatest white female singer in the world" by none other than Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Maye has conquered pop, jazz and even television jingles. In 1969 radio ads for Ford's Lincoln-Mercury, she parodied her hit song, "Step to the Rear."
Ms Maye repeated, onstage, what she told the New York Times: that she thought 54 Below was more than a cabaret; it was a nightclub. She generously, and correctly, thanked that nightclub's staff (who, indeed, were attentive, polite and never intrusive). The Times also described her voice as "full and rich and perfectly in tune," which is exactly how we found it last night. Her joy of entertaining also shone through, her eyes sparkling with overflowing charm and enthusiasm.
It was a delight to hear Ms Maye interpret the Great American Songbook, starting with Cole Porter ("I Get a Kick Out of You," "Just One of Those Things," "I've Got You Under My Skin" and more). "Hallelujah, Come On Get Happy" became a rousing sing-along. From her second album (on RCA), Kurt Weill's "My Ship," a favorite song of mine mainly for sentimental reasons, moved me to tears.
"Golden Rainbow," "Lazy Afternoon," "Guess Who I Saw Today?," "Lover Man Where Can You Be?," "When Your Lover Has Gone," "Something Cool," "On a Clear Day," she was, as the Times wrote: "Unstoppable."
At 54 Below, photo courtesy of broadwayworld.com
Her closing New York tribute included "I Happen to Love New York," Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind," "There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York" from Porgie & Bess, Cy Coleman's "My Personal Property" and "New York, New York" -- both from On the Town and the 1977 Ebb-Kander - Liza - Scorsese movie. Talk about generous! Did she leave anything out? Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind"? Nora Jones' "New York City (Beautiful Disease)" perhaps?
My mom used to play her Marilyn Maye albums on our hi-fi in the '60s, sitting up to watch Ms Maye's guest appearances on the Steve Allen and Tonight shows while I was tucked asleep. I know she would have loved this show; in fact, I sensed her presence with me tonight.
Marilyn Maye's voice has kept its vitality and purity over the years though her style has gone from pop to jazz. She excels in both genres.
The 27th Annual Bistro Awards presentation was the first I've attended and I found it a total embarrassment... of riches! Unfortunately for me, although I was thoroughly enjoying the generous parade of entertainment, I had to leave before it all wrapped up and consequently missed two major Awards winners: Dee Dee Bridgewater (as in one over troubled) and Melissa Manchester. (And you don't know how they talked about her! (Only good things, though, I hear.))
My friend, novelist Kevin Scott Hall, who is also cabaret columnist for Edge New York and writes reviews for Bistro Awards on-line (http://bistroawards.com/), told me that Dee Dee Bridgewater gave great show. "She had missed her plane but got in just in time to come directly to the Bistros," he told me confidentially. "She was wearing sweats and had her little dog on a leash, but she tore up the place with her two songs. Then Marvin Hamlisch accompanied Melissa. She was great ...and very gracious."
Kevin is a Bistro Awards committee member, and he was also a presenter last night along with the show's associate producer, Richard Skipper, and such fabulous icons of entertainment as Annie Ross, Marvin Hamlish and especially journalist Liz Smith, still looking great at 89. "I'm the only intellectual ever fired by The New York Post," Liz quipped, modesty be damned!
Ms Smith then introduced her friend, entertainment legend Kaye Ballard, winner of this year's Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award. Regretfully, Special K Kate opted to appear beamed to us, via Skype, from L.A., still as sharp and funny as ever at 86. She will be at Feinstein's in June, presumably not by satellite or holographic image.
Indeed, all legendary ladies present were joys to behold -- and can we, any of us, help but have a special flow of love for the show biz idols with whom we grew up? And so the love flowed, as did two bottles of lite beer over glasses full of ice for me, and we were equally awed by a new generation of talent creating a new and exciting vibe permeating the cozy theater at the Gotham Comedy Club in Chelsea.
Early on, Terese Genecco performed, as did Shaynee Rainbolt and Nicolas King, all of whom I previously experienced at one of Genecco's Tuesday night shows at Iridium recently. It was a treat to enjoy them all over again. Amy Beth Williams' coloratura soprano, stage presence and interpretive skills always delight. As does Justin Sayre's foppish comic persona. (I mean, it is a persona?)
"As a gay, Justin has excelled at scarf placement, devilish quips, and a healthy, but firm, love of the American musical," reads his bio; his show at the Duplex has been going strong for over two years for good reason. Aaron Weinstein's comedy mixed with violin virtuosity won me over, as did the faux tacky-lounge act of Max and Maxine, somewhat in the tradition of Bette Midler's Vicki Eydie and Kiki & Herb.
Jim David's hosting was wry and irreverant, an act in and of itself. Jon Weber's musical direction was consistently divinely inspired. Always good to see Don't Tell Mama's Sidney Myer (here as announcer). And producer Sherry Eaker pulled off a Monday night miracle, looking cool, calm, elegant and fetching in a black, diaphanous gown with sparkling embroidery and thong; something that Cher might wear when feeling sheepish. Ms Eaker had much reason to feel good about herself.
So, what wasn't to like about this Awards ceremony? Not a thing if you're asking me. It was a thoroughly entertaining one fueled by inter-generational star power, and that energy is what keeps New York cabaret an essential, vital stage medium. In terms of the onslaught of entertainment, joy of performing and the length of the event, it was a lot of bang for your buck.
Last night, the medium was indeed the message. And what a merry message it was indeed!
Below, a very 1984 Melissa Manchester on Solid Gold, featuring The Solid Gold Dancers.
