Midway through Clare Burt’s New York cabaret debut, she settles on a stool and begins her story about love and dancing. Her songs begin with the tug of “That Old Feeling” (Sammy Fain/Lew Brown) and wishing he would “Change Partners” (Irving Berlin) and dance with her. She reveals the swooning emotion that only happens when she dances with him (“It Only Happens When I Dance with You”). At the end, she admits that only his is “The Music That Makes Me Dance” (Jule Styne and Bob Merrill). A trained actress and singer, Clare Burt displays a contained intensity that illustrates her dedication to story and lyrics. The dance medley also shows the quality of her singing voice. Burt uses a breathy head sound in ballads like “Blues in the Night” (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer). Suddenly the clouds part and a clear belt breaks through for Arlen and Koehler’s “When the Sun Comes Out.”

Fortunately, Burt knows how to work her microphone and she moves back to let the potent fortissimo ring.  Still, there is a disparity between the soft murmur and explosive belt. Now You Know is a pleasing introduction to an experienced British theater performer with a lifelong draw toward American music and American performers like Judy Garland. As a child, she pretended she was an American by speaking in an American accent. When asked what part of the country she came from, she blurted out, “Carnegie Hall!” Expressing the influence of Stephen Sondheim, she opens her show with a fervent “Now You Know” and  “See What It Gets You.”

Another influence was Jerry Herman. She selects “The Best in the World,” tenderly portraying a father’s unwavering support for his daughter, a theater usherette who dreams of stardom. It is an effective choice and she discusses her own father, a jazz musician. Saluting him, she sings Styne and Merrill’s “Cornet Man,” with Michael J. Taylor stepping in for trumpet accompaniment. She is also backed by musical director Nigel Lilley on piano and Pete Donovan on bass.

Burt is a likeable performer with all the natural assets, but I kept looking forward to more of her narrative songs and less vocal intensity. The cute, coy touches as in “One Note Samba” don’t quite hit the mark, but when Clare Burt digs into the lost side of humanity, her musicality is compelling.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
March 12, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org