MetroStar Talent Challenge

MetroStar Talent Challenge
Contest Finals

Metropolitan Room, NYC, August 22, 2016

Reviewed by Randolph B. Eigenbrode for Cabaret Scenes

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David Baida
Photo: Maryann Lopinto

The many talent competition shows that have flooded primetime television slots for the last 15 years have, indeed, trickled down to even the cabaret world, as NYC seeks to find its new rising star at various Big Apple venues. (That’s not to say there weren’t talent competitions in clubs or on radio/TV prior to the return of contests to the airwaves.

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) Hopes of discovering the cabaret equivalent of Kelly Clarkson, Sam Harris or Susan Boyle fuel this programming, and while some might be weary of young and, perhaps, unpolished singers, this year’s MetroStar competition, the 9th annual, certainly brought the goods and made for quite an exciting seven weeks.

The contest crowns one up-and-comer in cabaret (contestants could not have had a major engagement at the Metropolitan Room) with the title as well as a produced debut solo show at the Metropolitan Room, and almost 70 singers competed for this year’s honor. Week after week, singers presented their pieces, including assignments from the four judges—singer/director Gretchen Reinhagen, critic Roy Sander, Met Room booking manager/producer Joseph Macchia and past MetroStar winner Billie Roe—as the group was finally whittled down to five contestants. (Audience members voted throughout the competition, except for the final night, and those votes were included along with those of the judges.)

At the finals, as he did throughout the competition, Tom Gamblin hosted with grace as the evening unfolded into a showcase of diverse talent and approaches to the art of cabaret. Themes of family, showbiz inspiration, and life’s struggles pervaded the concepts of each contestant’s three-song set. Stanley Martin, a showman with a voice reminiscent of John Legend, got the room jumping with a slick “Too Darn Hot” (Cole Porter)—including a tap solo—while Samuel McDonald’s smooth legit baritone boomed in an emotional “If I Sing” (Richard Maltby, Jr.

/David Shire).

It was quirky April Leonhart, clad in a ’40s-style swimsuit dress, recalling a love child of a young Bette Midler and the current Molly Pope, who brought neo-cabaret stylings, particularly in a version of “I’m Your Man” (Leonard Cohen) which included her own trombone solo in the middle. Brash and fearless, Leonhart slinked across the stage, sometimes on the floor, and threw away tongue-in-cheek asides like they were candy wrappers.

The evening came to a boil with a showdown between the two most traditional cabaret performers—Wendy Scherl and David Baida—each giving staggering performances. Scherl, a recent empty nester who is making a comeback to cabaret after 18 years away, dazzled with a simple opener, “Until Now” (Ron Abel/Chuck Steffan), followed by a heartfelt “Disneyland” (Howard Ashman/Marvin Hamlisch) and then, almost on a dime, laid the audience out with a ode to menopause, “I’m a Middle-Aged Woman” (Lisa Koch). Scherl has an honest and almost unassuming quality combined with a lush yet simple alto; she reminds you of cabaret singers of the ’70s and ’80s, yet her soccer-mom persona keeps her relatable to a contemporary audience.

But it was Baida’s dazzling set, which built from simple to showstopper, that ultimately awarded him this year’s MetroStar title. (The votes from the semi-finals and finals were tabulated to determine the winner.) Opening with the Stylistics-recorded “Stone in Love with You” (Thom Bell/Linda Creed/Anthony Bell), the room audibly gasped at his first few notes, which revealed an unexpectedly light tenor, almost alto, timbre.  Next up was a haunting ballad take on “Just One of Those Things” (Porter). While Baida’s vulnerability was breathtaking here, it was his razor-sharp comedy chops that were fabulously showcased in “The Fifth from the Right” (Dan Goggin) and they certainly assured him the big win of the night.

Special kudos to the brilliant Tracy Stark who claimed most of the musical director duties for the entire seven-week run.

Randolph B. Eigenbrode

Randolph is the newest addition to the writing staff at Cabaret Scenes. He is a cabaret teacher, previously teaching with legend Erv Raible, and his students have gone on to success in the field with sold-out shows and many awards. He is also a director and that, combined with a knowledge of the art form and techniques that cabaret performing encompasses, makes him love reviewing NYC’s cabaret scene. When not catching the Big Apple’s crazy talent, Randolph loves 1970s variety shows, mall Chinese food, Meryl Streep films and a good cold glass of pinot grigio.