Ben Vereen is talent without borders. In his show, An Intimate Evening with Ben Vereen, who needs a fireplace and a bottle of bubbly? Vereen has enough personality to heat up the room and a grin to light the lights. He is an all-around entertainer with talent to overflow even a generous hour-plus of cabaret intimacy at Feinstein's at the Regency. You'll find yourself wanting An Intimate Evening - Part Two.

A Tony Award winner for Pippin and a Tony nominee for Jesus Christ Superstar, Vereen sings, tells anecdotes, and hoofs a bit on an impossibly small stage. After a near-fatal car accident in 1992, his movements may be less elastic, but his verve still fires up the Fosse moves. He has the patter and the cabaret connection to link with the audience.

Without impersonating Sammy Davis, Jr., Ben Vereen brings a lot of his predecessor's vitality to the stage. His homage includes some of the songs identified with Davis, and he knocks it home with "Birth of the Blues." If you remember the Sammy Davis, Jr. treatment of that old Henderson/DeSylva/Brown tune, Vereen brings out all the Davis-Pow! Factor in that arrangement, and ditto for "That Old Black Magic."

Most important in Vereen's performance is the presence of heart and understanding behind the showman's voice, which authenticates his musical story telling. "Maybe This Time" reflects a palpable yearning. Accompanied only by drummer Obed Calvaire, Vereen's "Misty" brings out the bleak loneliness within a song usually tossed into the pile of piano bar favorites. In a tribute to Frank Sinatra for helping break the racial barrier for performers, Vereen delivers the Sinatra swing, yet surprisingly, one of his most affecting offerings is "My Way," a song created for applause, but Vereen adds shadowed layers into the song.

Vereen is accompanied by Mike Boone on bass, drummer Obed Calvaire, and pianist Bob Albanese. "Warm" in a world of "Cool," he charms a small stage just as he delighted Broadway, TV, films and concert stages for almost five decades.

An Intimate Evening With Ben Vereen continues through February 17 at Feinstein's at the Regency.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
February 7, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org