MaryJo Mundy
The Right to Cabaret
Tom Rolla’s Gardenia, West Hollywood, CA, February 22, 2020
Reviewed by Elliot Zwiebach
MaryJo Mundy is a singer’s singer who never fails to deliver when she’s behind a microphone.
Add two more profoundly wonderful singers—Jean Louisa Kelly and Courtney Cook—along with funnyman Bill Larkin, and you have an abundance of talent that made this edition of The Right to Cabaret series a total joy.
Mundy was over-the-top thrilling on a full-throated version of “Time Heals Everything” (Jerry Herman, from Mack and Mabel), the kind of power ballad at which she excels, and she was strong and expressive in duets with two of her guests. These included a wailing, full-out take with an ebullient Cook on “Buddy’s Blues” (Stephen Sondheim, from Follies); and a perfect vocal blendship with Kelly on the rangy “Never Enough” (Benj Pasak/Justin Paul, from The Greatest Showman).
Mundy opened the show with a warm, spirited belt on “It’s Today,” abetted by pianist Ron Barnett, who displayed a rich, deep voice on “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” (both by Herman). To close, she led a singalong of Herman’s “Hello, Dolly!,” cautioning the audience in advance to leave the “Wow, wow, wow, fellas/Look at the old girl now fellas” to Mundy alone—the closest she has been, she explained, to playing the role herself.
Kelly flew in from Connecticut to perform—for the first time in several years, she said—highlighted by a glorious, utterly superb take on the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch over Me.” It’s a song she sang 25 years ago in the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, she noted—before giving the enduring standard new and achingly beautiful life in a splendid, emotional rendition. She also sang a well-acted version of the always amusing “To Keep My Love Alive” (Rodgers and Hart, from A Connecticut Yankee); and she showed off her masterful vocal control on the rangy “At Long Last” (Steve Martin/Edie Brickell, from Bright Star).
During her segment, Cook was brilliant on a sweet, sincere and nicely acted reading of the dramatically intense “Oh, How I Loved You” (Marcy Heisler/Zina Goldrich), switching gears with the dynamic, crowd-pleasing humor of “Gay Guys” (Eric Lane Barnes, from Fairy Tales).
In addition to the ladies, the show also featured singer-songwriter Larkin, who flew in from his home base in Chicago just to participate. He accompanied himself on piano on three very funny original numbers, the best of which—“Making a Difference”—dealt with posting serious articles online, then responding to comments and arguing back-and-forth with others, which clearly enabled the protagonist to make a difference in the world.
The Right to Cabaret is a monthly show hosted, on a rotating basis, by Mundy, Hillary Rollins, and Alexis Gach, with each taking a turn performing and presenting other singers. The trio opened the evening, as they do each month, with a brilliantly funny song entitled “The Right to Cabaret” (by Rollins and Howard Pearl) that justifies the reason for performing a cabaret show (sample lyric: “If the song is not sensational/The act is masturbational”).
The next edition of The Right to Cabaret will be hosted by Rollins on March 21 at the Gardenia.
