Christine Ebersole
After the Ball
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, September 18, 2017
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg for Cabaret Scenes
She is glamorous, classy, down to earth, self-deprecating, and sarcastic. She has a crystalline voice that is capable of belting, purring, and slithering around a jazz arrangement. In short, she is a Broadway star offering up a personal story. She is the incandescent Christine Ebersole.
After the Ball is a meditation on time and aging. Celebrating being an empty nester and offering tributes to her beloved parents, there is a bittersweet quality to the show, mixed with some solid humor. This is a well-thought-out program that takes the audience on a journey.
Among the clever combinations of songs was a trio reflecting on how a woman views her face in the mirror at different stages of her life: “The Way You Look Tonight” (youth); “Look at That Face” (maturity); and “What Did You Do to Your Face?” (Susan Werner) (at that certain age).
A medley of “Yesterdays” and “Lazy Afternoon” brought out complexities and surprises in both the well-known songs. And Ebersole highlighted her versatility with a jazzy “I’m Old Fashioned,” a vaudevillian “Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo’bye)” (in tribute to her mother’s work schedule), and a big band-ish “My Baby Just Cares for Me.” Only “’S Wonderful” goes a bit too far, breaking down the song resulting in a loss of the melody.
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But, she delivered “Autumn Leaves” accompanied only by guitar, and it was a thing of beauty.
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Christine Ebersole will be continuing at Feinstein’s/54 Below for a series of Monday evening performances; attendance is highly recommended.
