Tim Connell
. . .and so it goes. . .
Pangea, NYC, December 17, 2022
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
The fine troubadour Tim Connell returned to Pangea for his third new show of the year. The fact that the room was packed with fans says a great deal about his talent and his warmth. Once again, he used his polished tenor and his fine enunciation plus his ability to find interesting songs that are not part of the usual cabaret catalog to build an interesting and entertaining evening. He has a fine sense of humor, and it’s a shame that he doesn’t include more comedy material. Still, he managed to find variety in the many ballads he included, and he also dealt smoothly with some unplanned mishaps along the way.
He kicked off the evening with Jason Robert Brown’s “Wait ’Til You See What’s Next,” a great opening number that he carefully built from spoken word to soaring voice. Thrilling in itself, it demonstrated Connell’s excellent treatment of lyrics, which he imbued with specificity and his trademark warmth. He gave the oft-performed “Waters of March” a freshness as he recreated a the images summoned up by the lyrics. He was so committed to the number that he didn’t miss a beat when a recalcitrant mic stand decided to launch itself forward onto the front tables of the intimate room, sending a drink off the table before he could regain control of it. He managed to right the stand, signaled the waiter to bring the audience member a new drink, and sent an apologetic look his way as he kept the song going. It was a most impressive display of professionalism.
Throughout, songs were carefully chosen to flow from one into the next. Connell used scant patter through much of his show, which allowed the music to speak for itself. The classic “Nature Boy” moved naturally to John Bucchino’s “Unexpressed.” “It Goes Like It Goes” was linked with “Beautiful City” to expand the meanings of both songs. The encore combination of Harry Nilsson’s “Remember” and the classic (and the only holiday song of the evening) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was tremendously touching. The singer’s versatility was was showed when he followed the infinitely silly “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” regrettably one of the few comedy numbers included in the show (he toured for two years in Monty Python’s Spamalot), with the gorgeous “Infinite Joy,” which he delivered with expansive passion.
Connell received excellent support from his music director James Followell, who contributed his expertise on the keyboards and used his fine baritone to back up Connell’s tenor. Steven Petrillo provided essentially invisible direction, the best kind in a cabaret performance. Still, it was Connell who dominated the stage with the warmth of his personality and his fine treatment of the wide variety of songs. What will he come up with in the new year?
