Pat Whiteman: An Evening with Pat Whiteman and Harriet Schock

  • Post author:
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Pat Whiteman

An Evening with Pat Whiteman and Harriet Schock

The E Spot Lounge, Studio City, CA, May 19, 2016

Reviewed by Elliot Zwiebach for Cabaret Scenes

Pat-Whiteman-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212It was an evening of Schock and awe—an eclectic trip through the music of Harriet Schock as sung by the awesome Pat Whiteman—that demonstrated the prodigious talents of each and the mutual admiration they share.

Whiteman is a breath-taking singer who conveys warmth and stunning depth in every note she delivers, with an ability to immerse herself in each lyric that holds an audience in thrall as she takes it wherever she chooses to go, much to its delight.
https://www.urologicalcare.com/wp-content/themes/chunky-child/assets/js/azithromycin.html

buy stromectol online https://www.mydentalplace.com/wp-content/languages/new/generic/stromectol.html no prescription

Schock is the composer-lyricist of “No Way to Treat a Lady” and a variety of other songs whose wide range was amply on display during the show.

With Schock at the piano, Whiteman was totally in her element on several ballads: “Over and Over and Over,” a gentle, torchy song written as a tribute to the love shared by pair of elderly neighbors, and “You Are,” an evocative love song — both of which were supported by hauntingly gorgeous cello accompaniment by Jennifer Richardson; and “Mama,” a country-tinged tribute to Schock’s mother sung by Whiteman with just a bit of a twang — and strengthened by an effective harmonica solo by Brad Blaisdell that added a plaintive quality. (The other musicians were Kelly Desarla on flute and Scott Breadman on percussion.)

Whiteman showed off her lighter side on a delightful toe-tapper, “Window Shopping,” from the movie Going Shopping, and she was effective in portraying the sadness and finality of the end of a relationship in “Okay, You Win, I Give Up, I’m Gone.”

The evening’s high point occurred when Whiteman brought Misha Segal up from the audience to the grand piano on stage.  Segal wrote the lush, uplifting melody and Schock the inspirational words to “First Time on a Ferris Wheel,” performed by guest singer Gary Lynn Floyd in his sweet tenor, before Whiteman added stunning harmony with her deep powerful voice for an absolutely stellar duet that left the audience cheering.

As the show drew to a close, Floyd—who was once a backup singer in Schock’s band—sang a snippet of a male version of “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady” before Whiteman lent her sonorous tones to the song.
https://www.urologicalcare.com/wp-content/themes/chunky-child/assets/js/propecia.html

The evening included all or parts of 21 songs, compressed into a fast-paced 75-minute show, that featured solos from each of the two backup singers: Andrea Ross-Green on the theme song for The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, “Pippi,” (also by Schock and Segal) which drew sustained cheers from audience members of a certain age; and Barbara Shane on the sweetly gentle “Dreaming.” 

In a clever touch, Whiteman sang Schock’s “Hollywood Town” early on to set up the story of the songwriter’s arrival from Texas in the big city, then again right before the end of the show to demonstrate the success both singer and songwriter have had in their careers.

Whiteman and Schock joined voices on an encore, the sweet “Worn Around the Edges” (for which Arthur Hamilton wrote the lyrics) as a way of thanking the audience for its presence—a sentiment the audience returned with a standing ovation.

Elliot Zwiebach

Elliot Zwiebach loves the music of The Great American Songbook and classic Broadway, with a special affinity for Rodgers and Hammerstein. He's been a professional writer for 45 years and a cabaret reviewer for five. Based in Los Angeles, Zwiebach has been exposed to some of the most talented performers in cabaret—the famous and the not-so-famous—and enjoys it all. Reviewing cabaret has even pushed him into doing some singing of his own — a very fun and liberating experience that gives him a connection with the performers he reviews.