Adriana McPhee: Let’s Fall in Love, a Summer Soirée

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Adriana McPhee

Let’s Fall in Love, a Summer Soirée

Rockwell Table & Stage, Los Angeles, CA, June 26, 2016

Reviewed by Les Traub for Cabaret Scenes

Adriana-McPhee-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212After her delightful, easy-going opening number of “Let’s Fall in Love,” Adriana remarked that with her mother, Peisha, being a cabaret singer and vocal coach, she spent a good deal of her youth at the Cinegrill and the Gardenia. She demonstrated that she was paying attention in those early days. With some self-deprecating humor and stories of her own personal journey, she integrated a variety of songs into a neat package.

While admitting to some stage fright, she nevertheless possessed a confident manner that established a quick and lasting rapport with the audience. She got maximum mileage out of “Old Devil Moon” with a sexy treatment and imaginative phrasing, including an effective pause after one of the “your eyes” phrases in the song. An amusing tale about her first boyfriend led to a moving version of “The Lies of Handsome Men,” effectively completed with a soft, slow ending. Describing a trip to Paris, in which she found true love, she paired “Where or When” with “Some Enchanted Evening” and a slow, determined take on its “Never let him go” drove that point home.

A funny bit of trying to come up with a duet partner who could blend effectively with her, but finding no such person, left her with no choice but to use her sister, Katharine. Of course, the result was an uncanny blending of voices on the Sara Bareilles song “Basket Case” and a touching, spontaneous spoken and unspoken display of love between the sisters. Perhaps it was that love that inspired the emotional high point of the evening, Adriana’s stunning version of “Star Dust,” complete with its gorgeous verse. (No singer should ever sing that song without the verse.) Musical Director John Boswell’s beautiful arrangement added to the magic. Ending with “Meadowlark,” she wisely saved the belting, big finish for last. Her strong vocal performance coupled with a well-constructed show portends a bright future for another of the McPhee clan.

Les Traub

Les Traub has been covering the cabaret scene for over twenty years. He is a co-founder and President of Cabaret West and has produced cabaret shows at the Jazz Bakery, Cinegrill, Gardenia, El Portal Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and at UCLA. He co-produced and wrote a Sammy Cahn tribute show at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. He is Chairman of the Board of Musical Theatre Guild, where he co- produced Sail Away, High Spirits, Little Mary Sunshine and Street Scene at the Alex Theatre. He has lectured on cabaret in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Connecticut. .