Michael Feinstein with Lorna Luft: A Salute to Judy Garland

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Michael Feinstein with Lorna Luft

A Salute to Judy Garland

Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, September 28, 2016

Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes

michael-feinstein-lorna-luft-cabaret-scenes-magazine_212It’s always a special event when the namesake of San Francisco’s crown jewel cabaret venue makes his extended-run appearances, and this tribute to Judy Garland certainly fits this category. Michael Feinstein is the finest ambassador and steward of the Great American Songbook, and his knowledge and experience with its creators is second to none. When he pays tribute to a luminary performer like Garland, you’re not just going to hear her biggest hits sung just like she did (which would be an impossible task in and of itself). Oh no. With Feinstein you’ll hear lesser-known tunes and variations on the tried and true arrangements. A perfect example of his   acumen is his take on John Meyer’s “I’d Like to Hate Myself in the Morning,” written for Judy. Feinstein bought the orchestrations from Mickey Deans, Garland’s last husband, and lovingly alters the tempo from the Judy version just enough to make it fresh and new.

The full version of the Yip Harburg/Harold Arlen “If I Only Had a Brain” is a revelation for most of us only familiar with the movie version. Feinstein sings the missing vocal stanzas and the song is fully realized. On “Just in Time” (Comden & Green/Jule Styne), a true Garland classic, Feinstein mines the wistful hope of the lyrics, building to a bigtime climax à la Garland. Adept at both big-time belting and tender ballads, Feinstein offered a medley of the beautifully optimistic Vincent Youmans/Edward Heyman “Through the Years” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song of encouragement and comfort from Carousel. A set highlight for me was his lovely plaintive vocal on Noël Coward’s “If Love Were All.”

Feinstein welcomed Lorna Luft to the stage for a trio of her mother’s big, big numbers: “San Francisco” (Bronislaw Kaper/Walter Jurmann/Gus Kahn), the tormented “The Man That Got Away” (Arlen/Ira Gershwin) and “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (Jean Schwartz/Sam M. Lewis/Joe Young), before she and Feinstein closed the show with the iconic Streisand/Garland “Get Happy”/“Happy Days Are Here Again” duet from the 1963 Garland TV show. The medley features that duet and add the “Hooray for Love” sequence which includes snippets from “After You’ve Gone,” “By Myself,” “’S Wonderful,” “How About You,” “After You’ve Gone” and “It All Depends on You.” It may be one the greatest medleys ever assembled and Feinstein and Luft milk it for all it’s worth.

With Michael Feinstein you always know what you’re going to get: pure sophistication, superb arrangements, strong and precise vocals and just the right amount of fascinating backstory and musical history.

Steve Murray

Always interested in the arts, Steve was encouraged to begin producing and, in 1998, staged four, one-man vehicles starring San Francisco's most gifted performers. In 1999, he began the Viva Variety series, a live stage show with a threefold mission to highlight, support, and encourage gay and gay-friendly art in all the performance forms, to entertain and document the shows, and to contribute to the community by donating proceeds to local non-profits. The shows utilized the old variety show style popularized by his childhood idol Ed Sullivan. He’s produced over 150 successful shows, including parodies of Bette Davis’s gothic melodramedy Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte and Joan Crawford’s very awful Trog. He joined Cabaret Scenes 2007 and enjoys the writing and relationships he’s built with very talented performers.