Telly Leung: Back to Birdland

  • Post author:
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Telly Leung

Back to Birdland

Birdland, NYC, July 19, 2024

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Telly Leung
Photo: Benji Rivera

Theater star (his career goes far beyond just Broadway) Telly Leung returned to the famous Birdland Jazz Club for the first time in six years delivered a full serving of energy, musical expertise, and showmanship, along with more than a bit of glamour. With top-notch support from pianist/music director Gary Adler, bassist Mary Ann McSweeney, and drummer Joe Choroszewski, Leung sang a wide range of material, from Broadway standards to disco to R&B in almost as many styles. Never fear—his strong personality and romance with the audience tied it all together.

He started things off with a swinging “Hello Young Lovers” (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II), and then burned up the stage with “I Will Survive” (Freddie Perren/Dino Feharis) in a rendition that seemed to reflect some Eartha Kitt influence. Leung clearly intended to create an evening full of unexpected interpretations of songs from a variety of sources. He explicitly announced that he and Adler wanted to take some standards and flip them, and they followed through on that. “The Best” (Mike Chapman/Holly Knight) may be associated with Tina Turner, but Leung imbued it with an alluring simplicity before building it into a thrilling climax. He gave Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” another great build-up that accompanied his jazzy approach to the song.

Sprinkled throughout the evening were his engaging tales of traveling the world to perform while dealing with the challenges of staying in touch with his husband and family, all of whom were in attendance. These humanizing tales built on his excellent connection with the audience members with whom he could do no wrong.

Concentrating on some classic theater gems, Leung found surprising approaches. A great mash up of “Broadway Baby” (Stephen Sondheim) and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (Irving Berlin) managed to both razzle-dazzle theater and highly personal at the same time. There was more Sondheim with “Getting Married Today” given a jazz flair reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald’s classic treatment of standards, and he delivered “Every Time We Say Goodbye” (Cole Porter) as laid-back erotica with a sultry musical background. “Nowadays” (John Kander/Fred Ebb) was presented as a tribute to one of his mentors, Chita Rivera. All of these approaches brought a freshness to this delightful evening, Hopefully, Leung won’t keep us waiting another six years before he returns to his club of choice.

Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Noble, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."