Susie Mosher
The Lineup with Susie Mosher
Birdland, NYC, August 3, 2021
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
The continuing series at Birdland, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, is a variety show in the tradition of Ed Sullivan—a collection of unrelated excellent performers who each briefly claim the stage to do a song or two before yielding to the next artist. What makes this program different from the many that preceded it is the hyperactive, bombastic, brassy host Susie Mosher (pictured) who constantly defies the classification she places on herself of “grandmother”—she’s a new mother too!
Nor does one recall Sullivan ever singing, something that Mosher does readily using a bombastic and flexible voice while improvising lyrics about the other performers, herself, and her stalwart musical director/pianist Michael Orland, veteran of innumerable seasons of American Idol, filling in for regular Brad Simmons and announced Billy Stritch, both of whom were unavailable. Orland did a fine job not only keeping up with the star, but adapting to the wide range of styles on display, and melding with John Miller on bass and Clint De Ganon on drums.
The one flaw in the program is that while each act is wonderful in itself, there is a rule of diminishing returns. The show, after a 20-minute delay, ran close to two hours, and a certain sense of ennui and discomfort sets in. The announcement of the final performer brought a certain relief with it. Despite that, there were many individual highlights in the show. Among them was Avionce Hoyles, a young, electric performer who launched the evening with a scalding performance of “River Deep, Mountain High.”
Stella Kim came next. This charming young woman came on stage with her ukulele for her carefully calibrated rendition of “She Used to Be Mine,” growing from gentle introspection to emotional power. Cabaret star Stacy Sullivan brought glamour to the stage, and with the aid of guest pianist Jon Weber, she worked her magic with some classic material.
Kimberley Locke was a huge success on American Idol, coming in among the top three of her season. Her hit single, “Eighth World Wonder,” was rendered a simplified version (enhanced by her perfect enunciation) that was truly powerful as she rocked the room Anaïs Reno, a 17-year-old jazz vocalist with a stunning, throaty voice, torched the classic “Angel Eyes” to a perfection that belies her age.
Stone & Stone are twin brothers and present a comedy act that harks back to the Smothers Brothers in their verbal word play, including the ability to talk simultaneously while being totally understandable. They humorously play off the differences in their lives, one being gay and one being straight. Alex Newell delivered “Only in New York” and “Nobody Else But You” with a marvelous voice and expressive hands. The latter number was done as a bullseye tribute to Nell Carter.
Then John Miller stepped up from his background services on his bass to offer some amusing stories about his long relationship with Cy Coleman and his work as a contractor for Broadway orchestras. He also contributed an amusing bit of folderol by Coleman and Alan Sherman about an aardvark. After some fairly pointless nonsense involving raffling off a mouse pad, the final act, Mardie Millit and Michael Garin wrapped things up with a sunny delivery of a song that was at one time ubiquitous—“Tuscaloosa’s Calling Me, But I’m Not Going.”
