Roberta Feldhusen
Who’s That Woman?
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, February 9, 2020
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
If there was a theme for this year in the New York cabaret world, it’s been opera divas making their cabaret debuts: Liora Michelle, Regina Zona, and now Roberta Feldhusen. All bring powerful and fluid voices, a surprising sensitivity to lyrics, and strong personalities that make their shows quite different. Feldhusen has a pixyish sense of humor mixed with a Mother Earth essence; in her wryer moments, she recalls the late and much missed Kaye Ballard. When she sang “I can stay young till I die,” one could easily believe that is very much one of the mottos of her life.
That lyric was part of a terrific medley that opened the show and effectively defined the program and the diva: “But Alive,” “Who’s That Woman,” and “No Time at All” (who knew that the latter two blended so well?). The invention in this combination was reflected throughout the evening. Who would expect that a song list heavily dependent on Broadway couldn’t also make comfortable room for Jimmy Webb (“The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress”), Shaina Twain (“Man I Feel Like a Woman”), and a doo-wop medley that gave moments for back-up singers Wendy Russell and Lennie Watts (who also directed with a sure hand) along with music director Tracy Stark (who provided some strong vocals and had a major part in creating these collages of songs).
But then who knew that a villainous number from a Disney movie (Tangled) could be a show-stopping comic Jewish mother aria, but “Mother Knows Best” definitely reached that level under Feldhusen’s sense of timing and drama. The same humorous flair was demonstrated with the madness of the “Metropolitan Scat” (Michael Duff/Cheryl Coons) with its reference to “schizoid sopranos” and the wonderfully nasty “What Did You Do to Your Face?”
Not that that was her only skill. Feldhusen offered a shattering, underplayed torching of “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry” and a romance-infused “The Folks Who Live on the Hill.” The emotional highlight of the program was her dry delivery of “That’s Him,” which led to the perfectly timed on stage arrival of her husband, Roy Feldhusen, who joined in for a charming medley of “Blah, Blah, Blah,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and “Let’s Fall in Love” with hid sweetly rough tenor.
What the newbie needs to develop is more ease in her patter.
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At times, it seemed like she was too focused on remembering the rehearsed words to really imbue them with meaning. Given her assurance with lyrics, infusing many with many levels of meaning, continued experience should resolve this issue. And it is certainly hoped she will continue to appear in her new arena of art.
