There’s no finer way to end the year at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency than with the room’s namesake and spiritual leader, Michael Feinstein himself. By turn magnetic, merry, mischievous, moving, a crooner and Catskill comic, Michael is a one-man tour-de-force. Well, don’t take “one man” too literally, since he is joined on the tiny stage by a six-piece band and three backup singers. But it’s Michael’s own bright star quality, his better-than-ever singing voice, and the variety of moods he offers that combined to provide one of the most entertaining shows of any room, any season. Consider the variety of music: Jerry Herman’s “We Need a Little Christmas” to “Jingle Bells” à la Jackie Mason; a boogie-woogie solo piano on “The Steam Is On the Beam” to a crooning “So Easy to Remember,” backed by Bucky Pizziarelli on guitar; a medley in honor of his friend, Rosemary Clooney, to “Where Can I Go,” a song by Leo Fuld, in Yiddish, in remembrance of Fuld’s family that was lost to the Nazis; and even including a warm-hearted audience sing-along on “White Christmas”— Michael provided a swift-moving, lovely holiday offering. Perhaps Michael can concoct a summer-themed show; why should we wait a whole year to hear him again?
Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
November 28, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org
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