If you're going to perform a Yip Harburg show, you're probably going to include "Over the Rainbow." And when you sing "Over the Rainbow," you are going to be compared to the incomparable -- Judy, the iconic pairing of singer and yearning.

Instead, Karen Oberlin chose to have the lyricist himself deliver the song. Her tribute, The Wizard of Words: Yip Harburg’s Songs of Wit & Wisdom, opened in the Metropolitan Room with a heartfelt moment on DVD from a 2005 concert, "Broadway and Hollywood Legends: The Songwriters." Yip Harburg spoke of a time when he worked in vain for a rainbow world; what he succeeded was creating a hopeful rainbow image in song. Harburg recited the verse of "Over the Rainbow," and when he began to sing the chorus, tears came to his eyes.

What a memorable way to honor E.Y. Harburg, who said, "Words make you think thoughts. Music makes you feel a feeling. But a song makes you feel a thought." Oberlin delivered her own feelings about Harburg's thoughts, and in turn, made us feel the brain, heart, and nerve reflected in his songs. He was a writer who reflected the value of love, but was also convinced that it is all a paper moon, real only when you believe it.

Oberlin presented songs of wit, wisdom and passion in a tightly assembled and entertaining flow. Accompanied by music director Tedd Firth and Sean Smith on bass, her lush vocal tone and intelligent flair held the point of the story, and the arrangements brought a fresh look at his songs. One example -- when Harold Arlen came to Harburg with a complex, harmonic melody, Harburg came up with the discerning line, "Last Night When We Were Young," that served as his description of human pathos as well as the song's title. Oberlin evinced the poignancy in the repeated line, "Ages ago, last night" by whispering just the last two words, "…last night." The pain was palpable in its simplicity.

Few of today's singers elicit the sense of rapture as naturally and intimately as Karen Oberlin. In "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe," she stressed the internal rhymes that elucidated the pot of gold in this impoverished woman's life. In a smokier, more sultry mood, Oberlin showed another side of passion in "What Wouldn't I Do For That Man," written with Jay Gorney for Helen Morgan and perfect for a speakeasy canary. With Harburg's social commentary in "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" (Gorney), Oberlin built up a narrative tower of tension and passion, with Firth painting the spaces blue. Sean Smith brought an imaginative bass accompaniment to "If I Only Had a Brain."

Oberlin delivered Harburg's witty, complex wordplay with obvious appreciation -- "The Begat" (Burton Lane), "Lydia" (Arlen) and "Napoleon" (Arlen). A less familiar song, the picturesque, intelligent, and optimistic "Sunset Tree" (Jule Styne), was the only one where Harburg wrote the lyrics first. Michael Barbieri even arranged a sunset behind her.

Karen Oberlin closed the show reading an email she recently received from late songwriter Lew Spence. She closed with, "Here's To Your Illusions" (Sammy Fain), so like Yip Harburg with its blend of romance and fantasy, cleverly punctuated by Tedd Firth's snippet of "(It's only a) Paper Moon."

Karen Oberlin delivers her tribute, The Wizard of Words: Yip Harburg’s Songs of Wit & Wisdom, on January 13, 20, 27, 2008 at the Metropolitan Room.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
January 13, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org