Debbie Gravitte: Big Band Broadway

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Debbie Gravitte

Big Band Broadway

Birdland Theater, NYC, November 6, 2018

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg for Cabaret Scenes

Debbie Gravitte

Broadway bombshell Debbie Gravitte, backed by the swingingest band in town led by music director/pianist Russ Kassoff, conquered the Birdland Theater with her trumpet-like voice (and, in one instance, her trumpet as well) and a bump of her delightful hip. With six musicians on stage, there wasn’t much room for the energetic Gravitte to move, but she still managed to give the impression of filling the space.

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When the platform proved too confining, she launched herself into the audience, strolling, stalking, flirting, commenting on food selections (she seemed momentarily fixated on a cheese plate), and surprisingly pointing this reporter out and declaring “he’s reviewing me!” and snatching notes off my table to read a few of my scribbles out loud.

The songs she chose were mostly familiar ones, but many of the musical arrangements were surprising, such as “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” which became a conversation between Gravitte and drummer Tony Tedesco, and a devastating “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” delivered sans microphone with just piano and sensitive trumpet from Glenn Drewes. Much of the evening was devoted to brassy, funny theater songs such as “Mister Monotony” and “I Can Cook, Too,” but ,like all funny ladies, Gravitte can torch with the best of them (“The Music That Makes Me Dance”) and turn delicate when the material calls for it (“My Ship”).

The band, which also included Kurt Bacher (alto sax/flute/clarinet), Bruce Bonvissuto (trombone), and Mike Hall (bass), had their chance to shine, with a Broadway-style overture, a hysterical vocal back up on “Daddy” and, while the star caught her breath backstage, a savage “Sing, Sing, Sing” that had the room and the audience vibrating. Of course, Gravitte reclaimed center stage with exciting versions of “Let Me Entertain You,” “I Got Rhythm” (including the original dummy lyrics), and a sultry “From This Moment On” dedicated to her beaming husband.

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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."