Every note Baby Jane Dexter sings is an expression of her entire life.

Her rich, smoky contralto channels emotions, moods and deep thoughts in a way that few singers can. More Rules of the Road, at the Metropolitan Room, was everything a cabaret act should be and rarely is: an intimate communication with a great artist.
“Open” (Mike Scott) wished that we be “open to joy, open to being alive.” On the other side of the emotional spectrum was the rueful “The Art Teacher” (Rufus Wainwright), about settling for a upright executive instead of the art teacher she had a crush on in high school.

“He’s a Tramp” (Sonny Burke/Peggy Lee), conveyed a winking, roaring sexuality. “I Put a Spell on You” (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) was a wailing love song, and “Chickie, Chickie, Chickie” (Dexter/Drey Shepperd) a hilarious turn-around-is-fair-play take on predatory men.

The loveliness of romance came with an easygoing “They Can’t Take that Away from Me” (Gershwins) and a dreamy “Something to Live For” (Ellington/Strayhorn). Of course, the tough cookie was never far away. “I Got Thunder” (Abbey Lincoln) and “Big Bodied Woman” (Eric Hansen) were expressions of feminine strength performed with appropriate power and grace.

Ian Herman was the exceptional and thrilling musical director, an organic partner with Ms. Dexter.

Baby Jane is at the Metropilitan Room for one more show, December 27.

Joel Benjamin
Cabaret Scenes
November 30, 2013
www.cabaretscenes.org