Oct. 15: Holly Penfield

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Holly Penfield

The Judy Garland Songbook

October 15 at 8:00 pm

Feinstein’s at the Nikko
222 Mason St., San Francsico
415.394.1111

Holly Penfield-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212Here’s Helen Theophanous’ review Holly at her recent performance at London’s Hippodrome Casino:

Holly Penfield raised the roof at The Hippodrome Casino London with The Judy Garland Songbook and brought the spirit and energy of Judy into the room with her powerful voice.

Ronnie Davison’s staging of a single spotlit gilt chair swathed in red spangled tulle, upon which a pair of glamorous red shiny shoes had been placed, cleverly set the scene in this venue, previously known as The Talk of the Town where Judy Garland once had a three-week sell-out run. The excellent septet’s overture of a medley of Garland’s iconic songs began this affectionate tribute, and it was obvious for whom that chair was placed on stage. Garland’s presence was felt.

The offstage voice of Penfield singing a tribute to London announced her arrival as she strode straight into the auditorium in a glorious, shimmering, slinky, red gown, greeting people at the tables like old friends, before stepping onto the stage. This was a Judy-style entrance and the audience loved it. From then on the memory of Judy remained with us as Penfield filled the room to the rafters with her enormous voice and gave us song after song with the flavor and strength of Garland. “Almost Like Being in Love” (Lerner & Loewe), with a big band style treatment from the septet, moved straight into a swinging “This Can’t Be Love” (Rodgers & Hart). Penfield remarked on Judy’s lungs of steel — an attribute which she clearly shared. “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” (James F. Hanley) was enhanced by a strong bass line and the audience clapped along. The melancholy “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin/John Turner/Geoffrey Parsons) was sung with great feeling, colla voce with just piano, and then Penfield swung into “When You’re Smiling (the Whole World Smiles with You)” (Larry Shay/Mark Fisher/Joe Goodwin) to a great finish with “Get Happy”(Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler).

The band arrangements were superb, bringing the glamour and glitz of a true Garland show to the room.
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Penfield displayed a vulnerable, intimate quality reminiscent of Judy—with her apparent dizziness—as she chatted to the audience with a relaxed and slightly halting delivery as she took control of “You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want to Do It)” (James V. Monaco/Joseph McCarthy) and then surprised us by donning a top hat embellished with a shoe. A little amusing banter with her MD followed (and a brown derby hat for him, too) as the drummer heralded “The Trolley Song” (Hugh Martin). The set ended on a high with “San Francisco” (Bronislaw Kaper/Walter Jurmann/Gus Kahn) very appropriately from this hugely talented daughter of that beautiful city.

The fabulous skillful musical arrangements by MD Sam Watts, whose septet at times had the power and style of a big band, were just perfect for the extraordinary voice of Penfield. The second set opened with a punchy arrangement of “Get Happy” as she appeared wearing another eye-catching hat, this time bearing a pair of hands on top.
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No matter that it didn’t really seem to have any purpose. By now the audience was in her thrall. In her blue-spangled jacket over black shorts she gave us “Come Rain or Come Shine” (Arlen/Johnny Mercer) with a great percussion intro and clever samba treatment packing it full of vocal energy. “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love” (Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields) with trombone solos was a vehicle for a birthday tribute to a fun-loving member of the audience, which Penfield carried off in her enthusiastic and skillful way.

Theatrical lighting effects and a gutsy arrangement showcasing yet again her amazing voice for “That’s Entertainment” (Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz) might have been a fabulous closing number, but there was much more to follow as, perched on the edge of the stage in a single spot, and with a muted trumpet intro to “The Man That Got Away” (Arlen/Ira Gershwin), Penfield gave us not an imitation but an homage to her heroine with a voice that movingly did justice to both the song and the original artist.

The great band arrangements, the stunning vocals of the singer, and the subtle staging by Ronnie Davison with creative input from consultant Shelly Goldstein made this show a winner. Penfield’s zany, absent-minded chat, empathy with the audience and humor perfectly echoed the Garland style as the songs came thick and fast.

“Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (Jean Schwartz/Sam M. Lewis/Joe Young), with a beautiful clarinet intro and the colla voce start to “Swanee” (George Gershwin/Irving Caesar) morphing into a a great up-tempo treatment, ensured that Penfield had the audience in the palm of her hand as they clapped enthusiastically. Again, a feeling of finality seeped in but, cleverly, this was delayed yet again, retaining a degree of tension as Penfield confided that she was qualified to sing Judy’s songs because she, too, was as broken as Garland was, and after a moment’s hesitation, the solo piano played “Over the Rainbow” (Arlen/Yip Harburg) and Penfield, once again sitting on the edge of the stage in a classic Garland pose, joined with the piano, her thrilling voice soaring up to the gallery. This was her poignant finale, but the audience demanded more and she returned in a dressing robe holding aloft a glamorous blue dress on a hanger which she declared was a reward for singing in a vintage shop. In a minute she had changed into it, urged on by the audience and received eager applause as she re-appeared in the gown. The encore, “I Could Go on Singin’ (Till the Cows Come Home)” (Arlen/Harburg) could not have been more appropriate.
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Penfield brought us not only the songs of Judy Garland, but her presence. As the house lights went up, that empty gilt chair seemed somehow to have served its purpose.

The London audience rapturously showed their appreciation. Clearly Penfield had won their hearts.