Steve Ross & Karen Oberlin

Astaire & Rogers: Cheek to Cheek

54 Below, NYC, June 11, 2014

Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes

Steve Ross and Karen Oberlin are the perfect pair to celebrate the music of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and, as was said about Fred and Ginger, Ross gave Oberlin class and she gave him sex appeal. The pair was a treat to watch interacting and their voices blended beautifully together. They told the story of Astaire and Rogers with charm and wit. Both performers were at the top of their game and performed seamlessly together. The show featured many of the songs by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern that Astaire and Rogers performed together, but also included songs that each had introduced outside of the nine films they made together.

Ross’s “After You, Who?” and “My Shining Hour” were beautifully presented. Oberlin reminded us that Rogers introduced both “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me” in Girl Crazy. Oberlin sang a hilarious “We’re in the Money” in Pig Latin, and Ross displayed his virtuosity on the piano with “Begin the Beguine.” Their duets were a delight—especially memorable were “Cheek to Cheek,” performed with Oberlin sitting at the piano, and the closing number, “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”