Michael Feinstein' s name is well known to readers of Cabaret Scenes and to American audiences; but it's lesser known on this side of the pond. So he must have been gratified by the full house for his first appearance at the 450-seat Shaw Theatre in London's Euston Road on January 6, inaugurating 'Feinstein's at the Shaw' with Michael Feinstein - An American In London. This joint initiative by Michael & producer Brian Daniels is a welcome attempt to kick-start up-market cabaret in London and it got off to an excellent start. The Shaw isn't part of the 'West End' and has been a somewhat neglected auditorium but the plan is - like its Park Avenue counterpart - to feature international cabaret stars throughout the year: among others, Chita Rivera, Ute Lemper, and Barbara Dickson are already booked.

In two sets, Michael and his superbly balanced sextet (with excellent arrangements by John Oddo) enthralled us with songs & anecdotes. So many songs, I only have space to list some of the composers and lyricists: Berlin, Porter, Warren, Gershwin, Fain, Sondheim, Herman, Cahn, Mercer & Maschwitz. His rendition of WWI song, "Roses of Picardy," was very moving and in this, as in many of the songs, he sang the verses as well as the choruses - from an age when verses were an integral part of the song. (Unlike today's pop.) The American Songbook - a cornucopia of lyrics & melody - was his co-star and his strength lies in his intimate knowledge of the latter. Having worked for Ira Gershwin during the last six years of Ira's life, Michael was able to hold the audience in the palm of his hand, not just by singing and playing but also by anecdoting. (OK, it's a new word.) His other five performances were reportedly sell-outs and he received excellent reviews.

Michael retold Ira Gershwin's favourite joke about the singer auditioning for the movie, Shall We Dance and singing "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off." That's the one where Ira had fun with pronunciation: 'You say either and I say either' (pr. ayether & so on.) The soprano pronounced each pair of words identically, singing 16 bars until Ira had had enough. "Thank you, Miss Leveen," said Ira only to have her interject "Miss Levine, if you please!"

Michael has evolved his act since I first saw him at the Comedy Theatre some 15 or so years ago - as a soloist with a piano - and now he's a superb cabaret artist. He chuckled when I reminded him of that first appearance, in which he sang "Rhode Island Is Famous For You," a Dietz and Schwartz comedy composition listing the contribution made by different US states eg, 'pencils from Pennsylvania, vests from Vest Virginia.' On stage, he announced that he'd like to do a UK version of the song but didn't know much about UK locations. So, during the intermission, I thought up a few lines and when I, together with a small group of fans, met him after the show, I said: "I have a couple of suggestions for your UK version: from Borehamwood, we get bores and from Horsham we get . . . into trouble if we so much as mention it." He laughed and we moved on to talk of his repertoire. Some 30 seconds later - as the penny dropped - a lady standing to my right suddenly exclaimed indignantly, "I'm from Horsham!" Michael's scheduled to return in September - book well in advance if you, like me, are enthralled by the American Songbook.

Jack Jaffe
Cabaret Scenes
January 6, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org