Rob Kevlin
Silver Screen Serenade
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, September 24, 2021
Reviewed by Ron Forman
Rob Kevlin cleverly intertwined nine decades of some of the very best songs from Hollywood movies into a fast-moving, very entertaining show. The songs crossed many genres and Kevlin displayed his ability to rock, swing, and perform a soft ballad. He was backed by a trio (led by music director/pianist Yaron Gershovsky, with Clint de Gannon on drums and Boris Kozlov on bass) that provided the perfect accompaniment whether the song was Latin (“Sway”) or rock (“Crazy Thing Called Love”). Kevlin has a powerful voice and a charming demeanor and moves gracefully across the stage. His patter was limited, just telling us the song title and a little about the film it was from, which gave him the time to perform 18 songs. The show was enhanced with videos and photos of scenes from the films in which the songs were originally performed.
The show opened with a Latin beat in a medley of “Besame Mucho” (performed in Spanish) and “Sway.” After reminding us that Elvis Presley introduced “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” in Blue Hawaii, Kevlin performed a nicely romantic version of the song. He and the band really showed off their ability to rock with “Crazy Thing Called Love” from Bohemian Rhapsody, which led into a dramatically performed “Somewhere.” Here the singer thrilled us with the length of time he held the note on the final where. As far as I can recall, he was the first male vocalist that I have seen perform “Fever.” His movement on the stage made it work for me. He covered “Unchained Melody” and “Over the Rainbow” very nicely.
The highlight of the evening was his well-acted-out “If I Were a Rich Man,” a song that he told us he had performed at his bar mitzvah; the audience joined in. Kevlin paid tribute to Frank Sinatra with two songs from the silver screen that are associated with him but which he did not perform in the movies, “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Theme from New York, New York.” Next to closing, Kevlin thrilled again with the Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli hit “The Prayer,” which he said was his mother’s favorite song. He closed with a very moving “This Is Me” from The World’s Greatest Showman.
