Andrea Axelrod
My City
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, December 3, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Andrea Axelrod returned to Don’t Tell Mama to celebrate her favorite city, New York, with a warm and funny review, My City. The wide range in songs that paid tribute to the Big Apple included works by Cole Porter, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, William Bolcom, Kurt Weill, and Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart. Each number focused on a different aspect of her beloved city, which made for a truly satisfying evening. When she had a witty lyric, as in “Manhattan” and “Anything Can Happen In New York” (both had additional lyrics by Axelrod and music director John M. Cook), she was in expert territory. But then, she is a funny lady, with echoes of Kaye Ballard and Nancy Walker—heady company indeed. Like them, she can turn on a dime, as she did to deliver a deeply felt and moving “Lonely House.”
Cook not only provided additional lyrics, but he also contributed fine musical support at the piano as well as strong vocal back-up. The two performers displayed a real show-biz-team vibe throughout the show. There was certainly some of that old razzle dazzle in the belted “The Joint Is Really Jumpin’ Down in Carnegie Hall” and in the swinging “Sunday in New York.” But they also delivered such emotionally laden material as Marc Blitzstein’s rarely heard “Stay Here in My Arms” and the joyous “What More Do I Need?”
One of the highlights of the evening was a tribute to the Roxy Music Hall (the predecessor of Radio City) and its extravagant intermission shows. In a whirlwind of personalities, accents, and genres, Axelrod sang “At the Roxy Music Hall” (Rodgers & Hart); as well as the New York country/western song “Way Out West on West End Avenue”; the lush, operetta-ish “Transatlantic Lullaby”; and the hot, swinging “Old Man Harlem.” This was smart theater, perfectly suited to the performer’s talent. Hopefully, her extravagance, voice, and humor will be well-displayed again soon.
