If four talented people got together and decided to put on a cabaret show, this would be it. And that’s what Clifford Bell, Mary Pat Bowe, Andrea Press and Kelley Yearout did. Since forming a one-time-only quartet to support Press two years ago, the four friends talked about doing it again someday, and the result is Fourplay!, a show in which each performer did three songs individually and then fronted the quartet on a fourth.

Since each performer was so different from the others, it’s hard to single out any one highlight from the show. But each had a shining moment or two.

Bowe wowed the audience with an excellent rendition of “I Am Changing” (Tom Eyen/ Henry Krieger) from Dreamgirls, building from a warm opening to a powerful, full-throated climax. She also sang James Taylor’s “Secret O’ Life” — about “enjoying the passage of time” — sweetly and matter-of-factly but with real truth in her voice and a delightful  “Recipe for Love” (Harry Connick, Jr.) that showed off her sense of humor.

Press did excellent work on two very different songs: Lew Spence and Jerry Gladstone’s torchy “A Wet Night (& a Dry Martini)”  and “I Don’t Say Anything” (Adryan Russ), a humorous song about a woman who chooses to suffer in silence.  She also returned to her self-described folk-singing roots with a warm, sweet version of “Standing Knee Deep in a River (Dying of Thirst)” (Bucky Jones/ Bob McDill/Dickey Lee), accompanying herself on guitar.

Yearout, a transplant from Atlanta, showed off his strong voice on two Southern rock tunes — “Open Door,” which he wrote with Matthew Trautwein and Hothouse Flowers’ “Sweet Marie,” a song about letting go --- but topped himself with a deep, intense version of “Race You to the Top of the Morning,” a song by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon from The Secret Garden about the inability of adults to fight all their children’s battles.

The fourth singer was Bell, who usually plays the role of Musical Director but here was an integral part of the show.  His standout number was “Take Me Through Your Lifetime” (Mitch Kaplan/ Barry and Renee Ruff) on which he demonstrated a strong vocal that built in power.  Bell also provided an effective melody line on the quartet’s version of "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" (Teddy Randazzo/Bob Weinstein/Lou Stallman) and held his own on “Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid (Robbie Nevil/David Frank/Katey Sagal).

As a quartet, the group had a lot of fun with Jimmy Webb’s “Up, Up and Away,” “Lady Marmalade” (Bob Crewe/ Kenny Nolan) and a full-on disco version of “Enough Is Enough” (Paul Jabara/Bruce Roberts).  Backing the quartet very effectively was Musical Director Tom Griep on piano, Nate Light on bass and Tom Bowe on drums.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
February 20, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org