David Sabella
Pandemic Relief
Pangea, NYC, July 23, 2021
Review by Bart Greenberg
Sometimes, in the middle of a cabaret show, there is one moment of such thrilling beauty and emotion that it will haunt you for days after the rest of the show fades. Not that the rest is bad, but it’s just that the rare moment can’t be topped. This happened in the middle of David Sabella’s Pandemic Relief program. The entire program consisted of a witty exploration of life during the darkest of times, made personal by his tales of a dying ex-spouse and of his two teenage daughters trapped in the house with him. The moment he asked the audience with arresting energy “How was your pandemic?,” it was clear that this was not going to be your standard entertainment.
If the pandemic provided the backbone for the dramatic arc of the show, the interesting melding of songs built its musical progression. The composers included familiar names from the Great American Songbook (Sondheim, Styne & Cahn, Mercer & Arlen, Herman), others just a step away (Harry Connick, Jr.), and some definitely outside the circle (Freddy Mercury). But the fascinating element was how certain songs were melded together to tell a story.
Some of the songs were arranged as medleys based on similar words (“Time Heals Everything”/“Time After Time”) or emotional themes (“Children Will Listen”/“Sorry Grateful” and “Lover”/“Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year”). But some of the most arresting moments involved balancing a song played but not sung with one that was vocalized. Andrew Lippa’s devastating and highly political “How Did We Come to This” was imbued with even more power when music director/pianist Mark Hartman inserted “America” into the background.
Joining Hartman with fine musical support were Mike Lunoe on drums and Sean Murphy on bass, the latter providing a fine solo on Connick’s “A Moment with You.” Hartman also provided most of the musical arrangements (some beautifully intimate, but a few much too jazz oriented for Sabella’s natural style as a dramatic crooner), with others provided by Gregory Toroian, Christopher Denny, and Rick Jensen (one of the emotional highlights of show was hearing Jensen’s own recording on tape, completed a few weeks before his unexpected death).
A lovely medley of “Lover” and “Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year,” presented with a simplicity (both musically and emotionally), was absolutely devastating. Simplicity was also the highlight of his encore, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” And then there was that moment: as Sabella offered up a straight-forward rendition of “Losing My Mind” imbued with subtle angst. The pain was doubled by the piano counterpoint of the heart-breaking “It Never Entered My Mind” (arranged by Toroian). Such magic doesn’t come along often, and it must be celebrated. Bravo to all.
