When Susan Winter came on stage I thought to myself, “Wow, what a resemblance to Sally Field!"  Of course, whether Winter has been mistaken for the actress or not, I’m sure Sally Field doesn’t sing as well as Susan Winter. Although Susan’s opening performance at 4 p.m. on a beautiful Sunday in June isn’t an ideal time, there was a small friendly group of friends and family present cheering her on.  Susan is a pro coming back to the profession she loves.  Her hiatus of 30+ years gave her time to remarry and raise two sons (who just graduated college). Working for many years on the road and fronting top 40 Big Bands grounded this smooth singing jazz gal.  Having recently started the long road back to the stage, she’s studying voice again, has taken several cabaret classes and has studied with legend Marilyn Maye.

Susan is warm, relaxed, witty and giving, opening with “Lucky to Be Me” segueing into “Until the Real Thing Comes Along.” She surely has incentive to roll on as her 2008 debut performance “Million Dollar Matinee” received a MAC Award Nomination for Best Female Debut. “Me, a debutante!” quips Susan.

She’s got an innate feel for when to use the fourth wall, welcoming her onlookers inside to take a peek on Coleman-Leigh’s “It Amazes Me.” “I Can’t Be New” (Susan Werner) is an honest statement of just the way things are "…’ can’t catch your eye when it starts to wander…I’ll be anything to you, baby, but I can’t be new!’"Susan, being the honest singer she is, understands how to present a lyric, making it poignant with dramatic intention. 

Winter chose some esoteric songs like Porter’s “I’ve Still Got My Health,” and the witty “An Older Man is Like an Elegant Wine” (Lee Wing) to convey her messages. However, the real touching moments came when she talked about her parents, finding  love letters they had written to each other during WWII on Cahn-Heusen’s “All My Tomorrows” watching her parents fall in love as she read an actual letter and segueing into the telltale “After Hours” (“…when I find you, I’ll start living again”). “Isn’t It a Pity?” is the revelation of her relationship with her father. The intimacy, sadness and joy she shared in these songs, together with her capabilities as a storyteller, make for some of the most touching moments of her performance.  Susan Winter would do well to entitle her next show “Love Letters and Other Intimacies.”  The juxtaposition of the order of songs was well thought out, with the amusing “Mr. Monotony” following the preceding heart-rending section.

Musical director/arranger Rick Jensen, Dan Martin on bass, Lina Koutrakos directs. There are three more shows at the Metropolitan Room, June 3 at 7 pm, June 8 at 4 pm and June 10 @ 7 pm — definitely recommended!.

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
June 1, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org