Mary Bogue & Claude Hall
Both Sides Now
Upstairs at Vitello’s, Los Angeles, CA, October 19, 2017
Reviewed by Elliot Zwiebach for Cabaret Scenes
It was an evening of fire and smoke as Mary Bogue brought the heat and Claude Hall provided the sizzle in a love-fest of a show that summed up their life journeys thus far.
Bogue is a powerful earth-mother who is a master at communicating her accumulated wisdom and emotions, whether sassy or soft; while Hall is elegance personified—a tall, slinky singer with a regal bearing who smolders. Individually, each is a joy to behold, but together they are pure magic.
When both were on stage, they were delightful as they jokingly sparred about stealing each other’s man on Duke Ellington’s “Rocks in My Bed.” They also had fun with Leonard Cohen’s ”Dance Me to the End of Love” and shared a clearly genuine affection for each other on a sweet, mellow take on Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”
In the first of two solo segments, Bogue sang about being a woman scorned, albeit with few regrets—defiant and in charge on a powerful “Unchain My Heart” (Bobby Sharp/F. James/Teddy Powell); hurt but accepting in a quiet, torchy “”Don’t Explain” (Billie Holiday/Arthur J. Herzog); hot and bluesy on “I’m Gonna Cry You Out of My Mind” (Ralph Bass/Linda Hopkins/Luis Rivera); and moody and sincere on the noirish “Blue Smoke” (Tom Culver/Steve Rawlins).
In complete contrast, she was utterly endearing in her second solo set as she expressed her love and affection for the new man in her life, who was sitting ringside. She expressed her surprise at finding love in middle age in “Love Must Be Catching” (Ray Stanley); sang about her newfound joy on “How Sweet It Is” (Brian Holland/Eddie Holland/Lamont Dozier)—with the audience spontaneously joining in on the refrain; and was wholly committed on “Because of You” (Arthur Hammerstein/Dudley Wilkinson) before closing the set with Wayne Moore’s “My Superman,” a tender, lovely tribute to her guy.
When Hall sings she displays the elegance of Lena Horne, the crisp enunciation of Eartha Kitt, and a breathy, sensual quality all her own that adds power and oomph to her performance. With a focus on songs about learning to know herself and how to control her own destiny, her first solo set included a tender, full-voiced “Down Here on the Ground” (Lalo Schifrin); a sensual “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl” (Clarence Williams/Dally Small/J. Timothy Bryman); and an enthralling, haunting “This Hotel” (Johnny Keating), plus a sincere “God Bless the Child” (Billie Holiday/ Arthur Herzog, Jr.) that pumped new energy into the standard.
In her second segment Hall reflected on her ability to find inner peace, encompassing a big, throaty “It’s Time for Me” (Howlett Smith/Spence Maxwell) and a contemplative, slowed-down “Man in the Mirror” (Glen Ballard/Siedah Garrett), plus an assured, expressive “An Easier Affair” (George Michael/Ruadhri Cushman/Kevin Ambrose/Niall Flynn)) and a defiant “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (Bennie Benjamin/Gloria Caldwell/Sol Marcus), in which the audience again spontaneously joined in.
Completing the evening’s magic was the Steve Rawlins Quartet, including musical director Rawlins on hot piano, Grant Geissman, featured on several powerful solos, on guitar, Gordon Peeke on drums, and Bill Markus on bass.
