On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen: Denise Spann-Morgan's Soulful Christmas at NYC's Metropolitan Room

The holidays got happier when Denise Spann-Morgan brought a bevy of artists to Bernie and Joanne Furshpan's Metropolitan Room this afternoon. I don't make it to 1:00pm shows for just any old body but this was well worth the effort.

Denise did Phil Spector proud as she opened and closed the show with "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home," a song identified with its original vocalist, Darlene Love, that Ms Morgan outstandingly made her own.

Denise brought a number of fabulous artists to the stage to sing carols and seasonal pop tunes that ranged from "Mary, Did You Know?" (a rhetorical question the song never answers, though sung beautifully by Beau Howard) to the novelty tune "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," sung campy zest by Molly Pope.

But more than hosting, the lead singer of The "Marvelous" Marvelettes belted out songs herself in an array of outfits. Denise put together a rousing afternoon of superlative talent.

I sat in a booth with my brother from another mother, Nick Lion and we got to exchange Christmas gifts just before showtime. Bernie and Joanne sat nearby, both looking even more dapper than unusual. Even my friend Wellington Perkins -- whom I haven't seen in ages -- came by to wish us a happy holiday.

Nick's white sports jacket looked appropriately divine for Christmas! In fact, it was an afternoon of holiday bliss that left me wanting to go dancing in the streets. Merry Christmas to all!

On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen: Songs of the 1950s, '60s & '70s @ the Metropolitan Room, NYC

L. to R: Andrew, Gretchen & Me

From the opening "Rock Around the Clock" medley, host Gretchen Reinhagen's A Celebration of the '50s, '60s and '70s at the Metropolitan Room was a polished doozy of a show from start to finish.

Sidney Myer, who runs the legendary Don't Tell Mama cabaret in midtown took to the stage early and performed with great gusto. He sang "A Pocketful of Miracles," theme song for the 1961 Frank Capra film starring Glenn Ford, Bette Davis and Hope Lange. In 1970, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles had a single release from their album of the same name.

Sidney followed that up with one of his favorites, Marlene Dietrich's 1957 "I May Never Go Home Any More," showcasing his camp sense of showmanship that is always refreshingly welcome as is his bravado, gentlemanly approach to his numbers.

Mark Cummings performed "O Solo Mio/It's Now or Never" and "How Deep Is Your Love" with admirable bravado.

Providing beautiful back-up vocals throughout the show, Karen Mack did a fabulous job on both "You and Me Against the World," a tribute to Helen Reddy, and Carol King's "One Fine Day."

Sidney Meyer & Me

Denise Spann-Morgan never fails to amaze and entertain with her charmingly raucous patter and belt-it-outta-the-ballpark voice. She covered "All in Love Is Fair" and "Boats Against the Current" with equally soulful aplomb. She can do no wrong in my book.

Gretchen returned with some amusing patter before doing her arrangement of "Afternoon Delight" before the show's musical director, Andrew David Sotomayor covered King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." Andrew is a combination of strong, sexy vocals, brilliant keyboard work and dark and handsome good looks.

After her tribute to '70s disco, the ensemble joined in to sing "Listen to the Music," a fitting finale indeed. If summer afternoon plans prevented you from being part of today's very enthusiastic audience, don't miss the next date for this series with its upcoming, equally spectacular line-up.

Tonight's stars

On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen and The "Marvelous" Marvelettes at the Metropolitan Room NYC!

I was greeted in the Metropolitan Room's lobby by the graceful Joanne Camilleri-Furshpan, owner Bernie's wife, and ushered in by her. I love her gentle accent! It was the first time we met in person.

Lead vocalist Denise Spann-Morgan later appeared on-stage in a sparkling beige, sleeveless gown between her back-up "Marvelos" Marvelettes (who sometimes got a chance to also snag the lead), the magnificent Annette Bland McCoy and LaRita Gaskin. Ms McCoy wasn't coy at all, it turned out, when she bitched that the stage lighting was making her sweat too much under her wig. She quickly removed it, revealing her real hair pulled back into a bun, walked out into the audience and put it on the head of yours truly!

On a scale of 1 to 100, this show was 110. The packed house was joyously jubilant in its wild enjoyment. Not only is Ms Morgan a powerhouse belter of a singer, but she is a hilarious raconteur and monologist; as raw and raunchy as any diva working today, putting Ms Midler to shame.

The ladies opened with "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game," then moved on to "Playboy" and "My Baby Must Be a Musician." Towards the end of the act that had the girl-group doing a very upbeat, soulful version of "Please Mr Postman," Denise had given me a personal shout-out and club owner Bernard Furshpan thanked me for bringing the group to the club, calling Buddy Beaverhausen Metropolitan Room's "matchmaker and yenta."

The song set included Baby Washington's "That's How Dreams Are Made" and Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness," both expertly interpreted. A perky "Beechwood 45789," "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and "Don't Mess with Bill" rounded out the night to lots of audience clapping along, applause and bopping around in our seats; even getting to our feet to dance a little.

The "Marvelous" Marvelettes blew the roof off Metropolitan Room and the Metropolitan Room loved every minute of it, it seemed. My friend Nick Lion and I had to later go for a couple of cocktails at The Monster just to recover from our cabaret experience, and to rave -- and share photos -- with everybody about what we'd just seen. Truly, The Marvelettes are one of the best-loved girl-groups of all time. Denise even told her audience that they were Motown's #1 girl group; not The Supremes. Motown's dirty little secret! Hallelujah and amen from your little old yenta, me!

This was the first night of The "Marvelous" Marvelettes' residency at Metropolitan Room. It was also Denise's birthday, by the way. The diva was thrown a little surprise party when the audience sang The Birthday Song and the club served cake to all. An extremely touching moment, especially for our star.

I'll be back for the next "Marvelous" Marvelettes show for sure. http://metropolitanroom.com/enhancedCalendar.cfm