Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch: Snowfall

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Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch

Snowfall

Birdland, NYC, December 18, 2017

Reviewed by Victoria Ordin for Cabaret Scenes

Christine Ebersole &
Billy Stritch
Photo: Kevin Alvey

If you spent the better part of last fall playing the cast album to War Paint on a loop (after having seen the show twice and bought a sippy cup and a t-shirt!), it was a a bit of a shock to hear Christine Ebersole speaking and singing in her own voice, rather than in the Park Avenue WASP accent she adopted to play Elizabeth Arden in the magnificent musical about two immigrant cosmetics moguls.
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The Broadway and cabaret veteran teamed up with longtime friend and master arranger Billy Stritch for Snowfall, a winter-themed show that combined holiday classics and New York-themed songs. After the show began predictably with “Skating,” the Vince Guaraldi instrumental, Ebersole performed several numbers in swift succession, including a mash-up of “Winter Weather” (Ted Shapiro) and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” (Irving Berlin). The first third of the show seemed somewhat sedate.
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Performing eight shows a week for months may explain why the luminous Ebersole seemed a bit tired (and less chatty than usual).

The evening took off with a thrilling rendition of “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” (Rodgers & Hammerstein), which made me hear the song in an entirely new light. Two other mash-ups showed off Ebersole’s jazz chops (and made me want to hear a whole show of songs) like “Dindi” (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Aloysio de Oliveira, Ray Gilbert)/”Wave” (Jobim) and “Hit That Jive, Jack” (John Alston/Campbell “Skeets” Tolbert)/“I’m an Errand Boy for Rhythm (Send Me)” (Cole). Ebersole infused “There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” (Gershwins/Heyward) with sultry wistfulness and held one note so deliciously long, I wrote “two lungs” in my notes in all caps. Overall, the non-holiday material felt fresher and more energetic, though that may have been a function of sitting at the bar (where the sound is not nearly as good).
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