Lynne Charnay
Happy Birthday, Tony!
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, September 10, 2023
Review by Betsyann Faiella
Lynn Charnay
Photo: Maryann Lopinto
An enthusiastic Lynne Charnay, at ninety-eight-and-a-half years old, told the audience early in her marvelous set at Don’t Tell Mama, “I am almost a century old!” Imagine! She used cue cards (of which she occasionally lost control), joked, and delivered a repertoire of some of the most sophisticated songs I’ve heard in years—many of them by either John Kander and Fred Ebb or Jerry Herman. When she (rarely) knew she could not reach a note, she spoke the lyric. She exuded experience. For many years, she had a professional career on the New York stage, in film, and on television.
Charney only appears in a cabaret room twice a year—once on her birthday (in April) and once on her son Tony’s birthday, who buzzed around pre-show and obviously adores her. The occasion was less a public performance (though it was public, and the room was packed) than a gathering of friends, and perhaps a few curious people who wondered what a 98+-year-old woman could possibly do to entertain them.
Here is what she did to entertain us: She delivered a fabulous set of more than 20 superb songs along with some very funny stories strategically placed throughout. She sang “Walking Among My Yesterdays” (Kander & Ebb) which led into “Yesterdays” (Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach). “Autumn in New York” (Vernon Duke) was hopeful but wistful. The gorgeous “Les Feuilles mortes” (Kosman/Prévert) was sung en français after Charnay delivered her own English version of it and explained that the original English-language version, “Autumn Leaves” (Johnny Mercer), was a poor translation.
She lent a deep understanding (or was it her acting talent?) to songs such as Noël Coward’s “Something Very Strange,” and Herman’s “Love Look in My Window”and “I’ll Be Here Tomorrow.” Every deeply touching lyric or comedy “aside” embodied the kind of knowing that comes with experience. She spoke of marriages, romances, her many wonderful friends, her career, her several retirements, and her desire to live to be a centenarian.
What an inspiration! She credits her interest in the world around her, her “attitude of gratitude,” and weekly yoga and Pilates sessions for her health and sound mind.
Did this all hang together as a seamless cabaret evening? No; it’s probably tough when you are nearly a century old to remember every single lyric, or even to see your cue cards perfectly clearly. But she had savoir faire and a truly gorgeous repertoire, and she was truly inspirational; in short, she was sublime. Here’s hoping to see her again in April! She was accompanied by pianist Rolf Barnes.
