Although Tammy Grimes has an entertainment history in theater, musicals, cabaret and films that could cover this page, perhaps she's best remembered for her Tony-winning award nearly half a century ago in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, a musical that she kept afloat on Broadway and the road for two full years. Then-critic Walter Kerr of the New York Times echoed many others when he declared, "Tammy Grimes is a genius." A decade later, she won a second Tony for her role in Private Lives, and Kerr confirmed, "Miss Grimes remains a miracle."

This cabaret show at the Metropolitan Room could well be titled The Unsinkable Tammy Grimes, because after all these years, here she is, facing an audience for the first time since heaven knows when, singing and acting her heart out. A repeated refrain uttered throughout the show was, "I'm not through yet." If she clearly relished every moment of it on her opening night, it was reciprocal on the part of the chockablock audience.

Let it be acknowledged that, in her seventies, hitting the notes squarely and keeping her voice steady is not Grimes's long suit. But for Grimes, the theatricality of her performance, and (on a dismal, rainy night in Manhattan) the warmth of her connection to the audience, carried more weight than many other entertainers' cold but perfect sopranos. With such audience-pleasers as Kander and Ebb's "Ring Them Bells," Kern and Hammerstein's "Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine," and Oscar Brown Jr.'s darkly cautionary "The Snake," Grimes owned the house. One gets the sense, when Grimes offers "her favorite song," Jimmy Buffet's "He Went to Paris," and sings of the subject's life, "some of it is magic/some of it is tragic/ but a good life all the way," that a substantial chunk of self-refection is included in her vocal.

Cabaret honors and reveres its treasured performers long after many other entertainment genres discard their own in favor of the newest teenagers coming on the scene. For those who relish, perhaps nostalgically, the performers who provided such exquisite delight for so many years, here is Tammy Grimes.

Joel Vig conceived and directed the show. Dennis Buck is accompanist and musical director, and was an affectionate supporter during a few moments of uncertainty. Michael Barbieri handles the technical niceties.

Miss Tammy Grimes is at the Metropolitan Room again on April 5th and April 12th, at 8:00 p.m.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
April 4, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org