Camille Capers
Introducing Me!
The Green Room 42, NYC, February 26, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Camille Capers, who recently graduated from Howard University, made her cabaret debut at The Green Room 42. Yes, there were some beginner’s flaws that will be mentioned later. But in view of her breathtaking talent, they were negligible. With her gorgeous and wide-ranging voice, her perfect enunciation, and her charming personality, she established herself as a force to be reckoned with within the New York cabaret community. As much of a cliché as it is, a star was born. With a well-chosen group of songs that she obviously feels passionate about (though a few more written before she was born would have been welcomed, as would a comedy number or two) and charming patter that fully informed the audience about what she was singing and why she was singing it, she had prepared well for an extremely professional evening.
Among the numbers she delivered in her rich, multi-shaded voice were Adele’s “All I Ask,” the bluesy “Love Will Come and Find Me Again” from Bandstand, and the Ike and Tina Turner classic “River Deep – Mountain High.” Each was presented with passion and the confidence of knowing just where to place her voice and a knowledge of where her thrilling money notes were. Other highlights were “Easy As Life” from the musical Aida, “Heartless” from The Prince of Egypt (imbued with so much genuine emotion), and “Raven” from the musical Brooklyn. She even performed a song in French from Notre Dame de Paris in her usual electrifying style, though she did confess she doesn’t speak a word of the language.
Throughout the evening, Capers received excellent support from her music director/pianist Rachel Kaufman, even on an improvised encore of “My Funny Valentine.” The singer was charmingly surprised and somewhat flustered by the demand for one more song; this wasn’t the standard case of “end-the-show, leave the stage, and come back for one more rehearsed number.” This was a very special moment, and it’s unlikely that she will be caught so unaware again.
There are a few things she needs to learn.
She should get rid of the music stand and the script sitting on it. The stand blocked her from the audience; the script was a crutch she simply didn’t need. Those things along with her reliance on the mic stand on which she kept a firm clutch, locked her at center stage throughout the show. She has so much energy that she needs to move, to swallow up the stage and claim the entire space as she so richly deserves to do. These things will come with time and experience as she hopefully keeps returning to the cabaret world.
