In All Sides of Love, Lucy Shropshire celebrated its many kinds, among them not only that between lovers and spouses, but also between pets and their owners, even singers and their accompanists. And, very important, love for oneself.  The songs vary from the very familiar, “Love Makes the World Go Round,” to the less so, “I Had to Hear Your Voice,” and in her encore, Shropshire embraced the entire world with her toast, “Here’s To Life.”  

 Lucy Shropshire is a big woman with an even bigger, beautiful soprano voice.  The words that may best describe her are powerful and intense. Possessed of verve and energy, her face, her hands, her body, are in constant motion and each phrase seems imbued with passion.  But the Metropolitan Room, although larger than some other venues, is—compared to a theater or concert hall—small.  Lucy’s personality and voice not only fills it but seems to expand to break through its walls.  She should probably reign herself in for a cabaret room, as, interestingly, she shows she can in some of her jazz numbers, such as “What the World Needs Now,” where she restrains herself, letting rhythm and her musicians come to the fore. Other times, she begins somewhat muted but ends with perhaps too much volume. She is a belter and seems at times unable to resist letting it rip. The result is sometimes a sense of her overacting as she interprets her lyrics, her mobile face seemingly unable to remain still.  During “Listen to My Heart,” I closed my eyes and let her voice alone convey emotions, thinking, as it soared with emotion, “I’d love to hear this on a CD.”

This powerhouse, however, delivers a very good show.  She allowed her pianist David Shenton and her bassist Mark Wade a solo, and Shenton played a very affective violin at one point during which Shropshire took over at the keys.  The show was directed by Jim Semmelman.

Lucy returns to the Metropolitan Room July 20 at 7 pm.

Barbara Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
July 15, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org