With her piping, fuzzy-fizzy voice and bubbly, enthusiastic personality seeming eternally girlish and down-to-earth, Fran-cesca Amari can be barrels of fun. But cali-bration is called for. Her zingy musical comedy skills let her nail “Murder, He Says,” the character piece about hating hip slang, that Betty Hutton had a field day with. So does she. She was indeed adorable in her savvy, entertaining cabaret show, but the same qualities of pluck and manic enthusiasm can sometimes be overkill on disc. Vocals can get shrieky or squeaky, frantic and frenetic rather than energetic and driving (John Bucchino’s “Taking the Wheel”). The reflective, plain-spoken philosophy in the CD’s title song (by Brian Lasser) and the old warhorse “What I Did for Love” showcase her more relaxed, reflective side. The latter has an unimaginative, by-the-book keyboard accom-paniment and phrasing that could use more fresh choices, but the decaffeinated decorum is welcome. Three intrinsically snappy and/or snippy Zina Goldrich/Marcy Heisler songs could have worked better by holding back a bit, but funny, fussy, flakey Francesca is irrepressible.

In phrasing, some opportunities for drinking in moments may be lost or glossed over, but “Wonderful, Wonderful,” sung affectionately, brings a warm—and wonderful—glow.

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
July/August 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org