Mary Deady: My Love Is a Wanderer

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Mary Deady

My Love Is a Wanderer

The Laurie Beechman Theater, NYC, March 23, 2016

Reviewed by Alix Cohen for Cabaret Scenes

Mary-Deady-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212“A fictional memoir of a woman—blessed with privilege, intelligence, and wit—who travels the world in search of that elusive something.”

“It started with a kiss and a promise—or so I thought,” Mary Deady begins, easing into the lovely “My Love Is a Wanderer” (Bart Howard). Deady has a slight Irish lilt and what appears to be a classically trained voice, which can be quite appealing. Wary of a new relationship, our heroine nonetheless sails to Mykonos only to discover all her lover wants is a passing flirtation. Narrative of a few phrases bridges most songs.

Noël Coward’s poignant “If Love Were All” follows. Sentiments of someone worldly and resigned seem off so early in the odyssey. A second selection by Coward, “Why Do the Wrong People Travel?,” is also curious. That travel “wasn’t all it was cracked up to be” due to strangers around her has nothing to do with the lady’s lonely pursuit. Too many numbers are not specific to the moment.

Deady doesn’t embody or communicate material until a medley whose elements also seem unrelated. When she lifts off with Carolyn Leigh/Mark Charlap’s “I’m Flying” from Peter Pan, we sit up at infectious delight. “Buenos Aires” (Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber from Evita) is dark and sharp. Musical Director/pianist Jeff Cubeta’s sensitive touch and symbiotic accompaniment is lushly textured. “Stop!” aborts the song, making it almost as abbreviated as that which preceded.
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Both of these should have been full numbers. “Where Am I Going?” (Dorothy Fields/Cy Coleman from Sweet Charity) closes the parenthesis.

“So I went to a place I’d been happy…” prefaces “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (Oscar Hammerstein II/Jerome Kern).
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 Sitting in a chair, eschewing gestures, Deady is genuine. Emotions feel personal. The song’s ending is sweet and light. This also occurs with “I Happen to Like New York” (Cole Porter), when “she” decides home may be best, and even more with “He Touched Me” (Ira Levin/Milton Schafer from Drat! The Cat!), during which the vocalist virtually lights up. I also buy “Sweet Beginning” (Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley from The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd).

A gorgeously rendered a cappella Irish song and “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” (Chauncey Olcott/George Graff, Jr.) ethereally end the evening.

The biggest handicap here is that Mary Deady almost never looks at her audience or shares. Eyes are either riveted stage left or directed toward her MD, giving us a profile of hair. She also seems stiff. Stage fright can do that. Late in the show when the vocalist loosens up—begins to sway, to look in a few faces, to allow a bit of intimacy—we get a glimpse of what she might offer down the road. Let’s hope the fear abates so this talent may flower.

Alix Cohen

Alix Cohen’s writing began with poetry, segued into lyrics then took a commercial detour. She now authors pieces about culture/the arts, including reviews and features. A diehard proponent of cabaret, she’s also a theater aficionado, a voting member of Drama Desk, The Drama League and of The NY Press Club in addition to MAC. Currently, Alix writes for Cabaret Scenes, Theater Pizzazz and Woman Around Town. Additional pieces have been published by The New York Post, The National Observer’s Playground Magazine, Pasadena Magazine and Times Square Chronicles. Alix is the recipient of six New York Press Club Awards.