Katie Rose Clarke

  • Post author:
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Katie Rose Clarke

Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, March 11, 2016

Reviewed by Victoria Ordin for Cabaret Scenes

Katie-Rose-Clarke-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212Broadway star Katie Rose Clarke (The Light in the Piazza, Wicked, Allegiance) sang her Texas heart out to an enthusiastic sold-out crowd at Feinstein’s/54 Below. With Steven Jamail, her standout musical director, writing partner, and best friend from a town near Galveston with a population of 35,000—and as good a band as I’ve heard in a cabaret setting (Micah Burgess on guitar, Colin Dean on bass, and Josh Samuels on drums)—Clarke moved effortlessly from opera to pop to standards to rock. The chemistry between Clarke and Jamail, a classically-trained pianist with enough personality for his own cabaret show, made for an unforgettable and uplifting evening.

After an underwhelming opening number, “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You” (Razaf/Redmond), Clarke sang a flawless “Sympathetique” (recorded by Pink Martini), which she dedicated to Jamail’s mother, her high school French teacher. This was a nice set-up for “The Light in the Piazza” (Guettel), the title song for the show that changed her life forever. Getting a role in a successful Broadway show is life-altering for anyone, but for a girl just finishing college in a tiny Texas town, it amounts to a quantum leap. The young singer’s mother came with her to New York for the audition, paying for the hotel with inheritance money.
online pharmacy https://www.gcbhllc.org/files/pdf/elavil.html no prescription drugstore

https://www.topsedu.xyz/wp-content/languages/new/do-my-essay-for-me.html

Clarke replaced Kelli O’Hara, a tough act to follow at any age.
https://www.topsedu.xyz/wp-content/languages/new/dissertation-editing.html

That some of the high notes felt forced didn’t matter; the performer’s emotion carried the challenging song, after which Clarke, slipping into a Southern drawl, joked, “I’m glad that’s over. That’s a big old song!”

Claiming to be moving on to “another serious song,” she switched it up with a truly inspired interpretation of the Christine Aguilera 1999 hit, “Genie in a Bottle” (Kipner/Frank), which she and Jamail listened to on a cassette in junior high school. (Talk about making a Gen-Xer feel ancient!) The song was so altered, one didn’t immediately recognize the mega-hit, and laughter ensued when the audience figured it out.
online pharmacy https://www.gcbhllc.org/files/pdf/wellbutrin.html no prescription drugstore

“Rise,” a beautiful and moving ballad about overcoming adversity that Clarke co-wrote with Jamail, made clear that she is more than a singer: she’s an artist who keeps pushing herself to grow in new directions.

“Make-Up Sex,” one of the show’s highlights, came about when Tony winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis and  I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) connected with Jamail on Facebook. The result: a riotously funny song with lyrics by DiPietro and music by Jamail/Clarke about a woman who refuses to have make-up sex with a clearly undeserving guy. “Awake My Soul” (Marcus Mumford) could not but feel like a letdown after that, but worked fine as an introduction to “Margarita Christmas,” which Clarke and Jamail wrote for their families.
https://www.topsedu.xyz/wp-content/languages/new/argumentative-research-paper.html

The show ended with an endearing “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” (Kern/Hammerstein), dedicated to the performer’s husband, and a simply spectacular rendition of the Bonnie Raitt-recorded “Love Me Like a Man.”

Clarke sometimes belts more than one would like, and her voice lacks the purity of a Sierra Boggess or Laura Benanti, but there’s a combination of sweetness and toughness, along with expressiveness, that gives her star power. When she thanked the audience for letting her and her band do what they love doing most, she came across as completely sincere. Clarke is interesting to watch and has, I think, the capacity to grow into as compelling a cabaret performer as she is a Broadway actress.