Klea Blackhurst
Broadway at Birdland
Birdland, NYC, January 27, 2025
Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

Photo: Jeff Harnar
What better way to begin a cabaret show than with a well-known anthem from a Broadway show, one that perhaps is the quintessential song of empowerment and self-confidence. As though she had just been shot out of a cannon, Klea Blackhurst delivered it to a highly appreciative audience with all the verve and passion it deserved. The song, “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (Jule Styne/Bob Merrill from Funny Girl), was one of the numbers that catapulted Broadway diva Barbra Streisand to stardom. With a new arrangement by Michael Rice, its performance by Blackhurst was like an unexpected shot of vitamin B12, and it got this show off to a rousing start that didn’t subside until she left the stage. Later in the show, Jerry Herman’s “Before the Parade Passes By” provided just the right bookend for the show’s theme.
As if to reinforce the confidence boost from the first song, next up was “It’s Not Where You Start (It’s Where You Finish)” (Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields), in the familiar arrangement by Wally Harper that Barbara Cook sang so often in her concerts. Blackhurst matched Cook’s prowess, seemingly unwilling to stop singing until she was convinced that the audience had digested the message she was delivering.
Blackhurst interspersed stories of her personal history throughout that gave the audience a chance to know her better. Growing up in Utah (which she called the “Buckle on the Jell-o Belt”), she came from a Mormon background. Her mother introduced her to the music she (and we) love, and she eventually made her way to New York.
Actually, this show could have been called All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Broadway Musicals. Most of the selections were optimistic and often inspiring, and Blackhurst credited her knowledge of musicals with being her best and fondest teacher. But this was nothing like a therapy session; it was like a cheerleading rally for one’s life. Particularly touching was the rarely heard song from the musical The Nutty Professor (Marvin Hamlisch/Rupert Holmes), “While I Still Have the Time,” one of the last Hamlisch wrote. In true Blackhurst style, there were surprises throughout the show, such as her trumpet playing and yodeling. It was a variety show, reminiscent of the TV Sunday-night TV programs many of us used to watch with our families.
Good news! Blackhurst will performer her tribute to Jerry Herman at Chelsea Table & Stage on February 16, with further engagements to follow. Her Pocket Change Trio—Michael Rice (pianist/MD), Daniel Glass (drums), and Ray Kilday (bass) will once again add their sparkle to an already dazzling show.
June Squibb, who played Electra in the original production of Gypsy that starred Ethel Merman, said that Merman had a sense of her audience and a great love for them. At any of Klea Blackhurst’s performances, that sentiment comes alive again.