Martha Bartz

Off the Charts with Martha Bartz

The Green Room 42, NYC, September 30, 2022

Reviewed by DeLong Le

A night with Martha Bartz is a night that you won’t forget.  At NYC’s The Green Room 42, her set list ranged from known quantities to obscure Broadway numbers, and included a few surprisingly unfamiliar ones, all sure to delight everyone who loves the art form of cabaret.

This project was four-and-a-half years in the making, and one can tell that a lot of her heart went into it. Even with this leading lady’s astounding voice, the performance would be less notable without the contribution of her amazing band. Dr. Mory Ortman, on keyboard, was the music director and sometimes vocal-duet partner. In the second song of her opening medley, we were treated to the addition of Steve Doyle on bass and Ron Tierno on drums. The synergy and the camaraderie among Doyle, Tierno, and Ortman was admirable.

The highlight of the night was appropriately titled “The Best Is Yet to Come.” Its “Fraiser Theme”-like styling led the audience to believe it would be a nice, low-key song. But Bartz showcased her vocal prowess by ending on a high note with a nice vibrato. Her tone on this song, especially with its sustained note, evoked a young Minnie Riperton. The numbers were arranged by Christopher Denny, Alex Rybeck, Sean Gough, and others, but still there was an overall cohesiveness to the show and you never felt a drop in the beat. Jeff Harnar served as director.

If Bartz ever chooses to rework her show, she might include more comedy bits because her comedic timing was impeccable. Her humor was in full force on numbers such as “Vodka” (she took three shots of vodka along with the audience during that song), and “Yolanda at the Bottom of the Stairs” (a great audience-participation number).

I hope many cabaret goers get the chance to experience this show because it made for a night full of laughter and tears, just from laughing so much. How appropriate it was that her final number was “I Only Wanna Laugh.”