Marnie Klar: Karen Carpenter Covers

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Marnie Klar

Karen Carpenter Covers

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, February 7, 2025

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Marnie Klar
Photo by Taka Harkness

In her program Karen Carpenter Covers Marnie Klar paid tribute to that angel-voiced singer. Why “covers”? Because the Karen Carpenter never wrote a single song herself although her brother Richard collaborated on a few. Many of these songs, widely varied in style, became associated with that golden singer. By presenting more than 20 of them Klar gave an excellent overview of Carpenter’s too brief career, along with a fine exploration of her sad life. Klar may not possess the honoree’s crystalline voice, but she used her own voice and pleasing vocals to their full power to bring the audience into the story,

Klar was supported by a group of fine musicians. They were Steven Ray Watkins on piano and some lovely vocal backup, Matt Scharfglass on bass, and Don Kelly on drums. They all had moments to shine and took full advantage of them. The compelling dramatic part of the show was under the always seamless direction of Tanya Moberly. These talented folks provided an excellent setting for Klar’s beautifully calibrated performance.

Highlights of the show included “Da Doo Ron Ron” (Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich & Phil Spector), which radiated happiness, and the classic “We’ve Only Just Begun” (Roger Nichols/Paul Williams) in which the quartet of performers demonstrated the fine craft of truly listening to each other to present a unified effect. “Ticket to Ride” (John Lennon/Paul McCartney), the Carpenters’ first hit, was delivered with a touching undercurrent of melancholy. “I Need to Be in Love” (Richard Carpenter/ Albert Hammond & John Bellis) and “This Masquerade” (Leon Russell) were both highly emotional and made very personal by Klar’s compassion for Karen Carpenter. These touches made this show a fine tribute and gave the audience a very enjoyable evening.

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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."