The Classic American Songbook Series
You Took Advantage of Me: Rodgers and Hart on Love
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, March 27, 2018
Reviewed by Elizabeth Ahlfors for Cabaret Scenes
“You Are Too Beautiful” describes the music in Rodgers and Hart on Love, Deborah Grace Winer’s presentation of The Classic American Songbook Series at Feinstein’s/54 Below.
The lyrics of Lorenz Hart, however, reflect much more than beauty. Hart, a master craftsman, presents personal feelings with unmatched skill. Listen to it in “I’m a sentimental sap” (from “You Took Advantage of Me”), in “I miss the kisses and I miss the bites” (from “I Wish I Were in Love Again”), and in the nostalgia of “Some things that happen for the first time/Seem to be happening again” (from “Where or When”).
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The Rodgers and Hart songs are jewels, and three superb performers—Christiane Noll, Darius de Haas, and Debby Boone—bring their smart interpretations to their concept of love.
Singer/actress Noll (Jekyll and Hyde) is busy in concerts, theater, and the intimacy of cabaret. A precise soprano, she also has a powerful theater voice that can punch “Johnny One Note” (Babes in Arms) out of the room, up the stairs, and out to 54th Street. She was magnetic here with the original lyrics of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (Pal Joey): moody, leaning on the piano, confessing about “this half-pint imitation” that put her “on the blink.” She went on with one of the most convincingly interpretations of a woman reliving her post-coital bliss, albeit with a short lyric lapse. (De Haas revealed that Boone whispered to him, “The orgasm will always get you— every time.”) Noll’s sexy mood was broken, but her confessional interpretation of the song will remain in its own memory bank of classic cabaret.
De Haas brought to the show a pop-jazz sensibility, occasionally adding moody vocal quips, yet never abandoning the lyrics. He was outstanding as a besotted lover in “Glad to Be Unhappy,” and showed unabashed honesty with “You Are Too Beautiful” (both from Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!). He and Noll cleverly traded jibes in “Ev’rything I’ve Got” (By Jupiter).
Boone, once known mainly for her pop rendition of “You Light Up My Life,” has developed as a vocalist. She has absorbed the influence of her mother-in-law Rosemary Clooney’s precise stress, acute phrasing, and understanding of the intent of the song. Boone now stands alongside many of the finest club singers with convincing interpretation. Her ballad, “You’re Nearer” (Too Many Girls) was sumptuous, and “Lover” (Love Me Tonight), as a slow jazz waltz, was a delight.
In one of her intermittent comments about Rodgers and Hart, Winer noted that “The Lady Is a Tramp” from Babes in Arms, does not claim that the lady is a slut, but a woman celebrating freedom. Boone got the point and delivered Hart’s on-target proclamation, “Social circles spin too fast for me/My Hobohemia is the place to be,” and “I like sweet, fresh rain on my face/ Diamonds and lace /No Got—So what!
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The trio closed the show with “Manhattan” (Garrick Gaieties), each with a wry look at the irony in “And tell me what street/Compares with Mott Street/ In July?” and “The subway charms us so.” The whole show turned Feinstein’s/54 Below “into an isle of joy,” with timeless songs by stellar singers directed by Mark Waldrop.
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Right with them all the way was accompaniment by music director/pianist John Oddo and his trio of first-class players: Jay Leonhart on bass and Jim Saporito on drums.
A classy evening of music by Deborah Grace Winer who knows standards as well as anyone and presents them with wit and savvy to audiences of today. We can look forward to the two following revues: A Jerome Robbins Centennial Concert (May 8) and Till There Was You: A Celebration of Barbara Cook (June 17)
See the article on this series at https://cabaretscenes.org/2018/03/22/a-conversation-with-deborah-grace-winer/
