Scott Raneri
The Marvelous Mr. Marzo
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, February 16, 2020
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Scott Raneri is a smart performer with a strong and expressive voice (once it warmed up), a wry sense of humor, and a good command of the stage. He also possesses a strong sense of theatricality, infusing his program with a series of well-chosen family photographs projected onto the back wall. He also had a strong trio backing him up—Brad Ross, piano/music director; David Ashton, woodwinds; and Sean Murphy, bass—all of whom heightened the musical aspects of the show. Director Mark Corpron kept the evening moving and collaborated with the performer and Joey Virgo on the script. Unfortunately, all of these talented people came up with a mixed bag of a show.
Raneri had explained that “I’ve wanted to create a solo cabaret show for years.
online pharmacy http://www.handrehab.us/flash/swf/valtrex.html no prescription drugstore
buy synthroid online https://redemperorcbd.com/wp-content/languages/new/prescription/synthroid.html no prescription
I wanted to develop a show based on a really original idea.” And that he did.
This may be the first cabaret program based around DNA results and family
skeletons. However, the evening quickly became an attack on his grandmother
(who he admitted had always been lovely to him) which made it a slightly
bitter, rather unkind affair. His confession towards the end of the show that
what he discovered didn’t really change his life at all made it a somewhat
pointless exercise.
That’s not to say that the performer didn’t offer up an interesting mix of songs to tie in with his journey. Ranging from a deeply felt “Song for My Father (Jason Darrow/Gerard Cohen/Horace Silver) to a deliciously raunchy “Pour Me a Man” (Fred Barton), Raneri displayed a deep understanding of lyrics and how to deliver them. There was also a lovely tribute to his mother (“Mama a Rainbow”) and a wacky rewrite of the Gilbert and Sullivan “I’ve Got a Little List” (special lyrics by Corpron) that commented on his story. But the less pleasant edge of the show was present in an overly emphatic “My Simple Christmas Wish.”
Raneri has an attractive voice, a strong stage presence and an intelligence in choosing his songs and presenting them well. Hopefully, his next stage venture will be of a more compassionate nature.
American Songbook,American Songbook Association,ASA,Broadway,Broadway Musicals,Cabaret,Cabaret Reviews,Cabaret Scenes,CD,CD Reviews,Clubs,Composers,Great American Songbook,Music,Musicals,Nightclubs,Vocalists,Scott Raneri,The Marvelous Mr. Marzo,Don’t Tell Mama, NYC,Bart Greenberg,Brad Ross,David Ashton,Sean Murphy,Mark Corpron,Joey Virgo,DNA,Song for My Father,Jason Darrow,Gerard Cohen,Pour Me a Man,Fred Barton,Mama a Rainbow,Gilbert and Sullivan,I’ve Got a Little List,My Simple Christmas Wish,Horace Silver
