Richard Sacher: Songs I Never Get to Sing

Post author:Bart Greenberg
Post published:November 25, 2017
Reading time:3 mins read

Richard Sacher

Songs I Never Get to Sing

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, November 15, 2017

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg for Cabaret Scenes

The charming Richard Sacher offered up a group of songs that he has never had a chance to sing in public. The mature gentleman with a secure baritone collected a selection of material all created for the great divas of Broadway and Hollywood. Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand, Betty Hutton, Glenn Close, et al. were paid their due. Sacher wisely concentrated on the material and made no attempt to imitate the ladies, and happily (and surprisingly) avoided sliding into the area of camp. Such songs as “With One Look” (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Don Black/Christopher Hampton) from Sunset Boulevard and “I Dreamed a Dream” (Claude-Michel Schönberg/Alain Boublil/Herbert Kretzmer) from Les Misérables could easily become silly here, but the singer listened to the lyrics and offered up a sensitive interpretation of each piece, often using idiomatic phrasing to emphasize the meaning. Happily, these ballads were mixed in with some great comedy material, such as “I’m a Square in a Social Circle” (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans) from the film The Stork Club and “A Trip to the Library” (Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick) from She Loves Me which were given delightful treatment.

Throughout, he was guided with an assured hand by director Collette Black and musical director Michael Ferreri. And they found the perfect closer for the performer in “Show Off” (Lisa Lambert/Greg Morrison) from The Drowsy Chaperone. Although the song swears the singer will depart the stage, we can only hope that Sacher will return soon.

Tags: Supper Clubs, Bart Greenberg, Cabaret Scenes, Standards, The Stork Club, Barbra Streisand, She Loves Me, Jazz, Collette Black, Singers, Sheldon Harnick, Ethel Merman, I Dreamed a Dream, Cabaret Reviews, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Show Off, Jazz Vocalists, Glenn Close, Don't Tell Mama, Jazz Singers, Jerry Bock, Revues, Show Tunes, lyricists, Venues, Don Black, With One Look, NYC, Michael Ferreri, Great American Songbook, Sunset Boulevard, American Songbook, The Drowsy Chaperone, Christopher Hampton, A Trip to the Library, Broadway, Clubs, Songbook, Lisa Lambert, Vocalists, Richard Sacher, hollywood, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Popular Song, Betty Hutton, CD, Songs I Never Get to Sing, Cabaret, Alain Boublil, Nightclubs, Jay Livingston, Composers, I’m a Square in a Social Circle, Broadway Musicals, Herbert Kretzmer, Musicals, Ray Evans, Musicians, Greg Morrison, Les Miserables

Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Noble, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."

Richard Sacher

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