Roz White and Friends

  • Post author:
  • Reading time:2 mins read

Roz White and Friends

MetroStage, Alexandria, Virginia, August 15, 2015

Reviewed by Michael Miyazaki for Cabaret Scenes

Roz-White-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212Roz White opened her MetroStage show with a searing version of the Dreamgirls song “One Night Only.” After explaining that Dreamgirls was her introduction to performing, she took the audience on an entertaining tour of her other roles and influences.

She got off to a strong start with a mini-set devoted to Pearl Bailey, including a sassy “Personality,” a knowing “Frankie and Johnny,” and a triumphant “If My Friends Could See Me Now.

online pharmacy no prescription

” Other highlights of the evening included a tender lullaby from the show Three Sistahs, a poignant take on the Billie Holiday classic, “Billie’s Blues,” and a raucous closer of “Down Home Blues.”

White is a gracious, genial hostess who made the entire audience feel that they were the “friends” in the show’s title. She has a stylistic flexibility that allows her to succeed with a variety of material, and she manages to portray a variety of characters and styles while maintaining a core presence that keeps the evening from seeming schizophrenic.

White and Musical Director William Knowles deserve credit for creating a seamless evening with effective use of underscoring to create effortless-seeming transitions from patter into song. Ron Oshima on sax and David Cole on guitar contributed to moods from soul searching to barn burning.

online pharmacy no prescription

buy albuterol online https://www.ukmedix.co.uk/wp-content/themes/twentyseventeen/inc/php/albuterol.html no prescription

Guest artist Yvette Spears contributed to the charm of the evening with an upbeat version of “I’ve Gotta Be Me.”

Michael Miyazaki

Michael Miyazaki is a Washington DC/Baltimore area-based performer, director, and writer. He has performed at various venues in the DC area, and his most recent show is Thanks for the Memories: The Musical Legacy of Bob Hope. He has appeared with numerous local theater troupes including Scena Theatre, the Source Theatre, and Fraudulent Productions. He has attended the Perry-Mansfield Cabaret Workshop (working with master teachers Andrea Marcovicci, Karen Mason, Barry Kleinbort, Christopher Denny, Shelly Markham, and David Gaines), and has also studied under Sally Mayes, Tex Arnold, Lina Koutrakos, Rick Jensen, Amanda McBroom, and Alex Rybeck. He is the creator of the blog The Miyazaki Cabaret Update: DC & Beyond (currently on hiatus) and is a member of the DC Cabaret Network and the Arts Club of Washington.