Natasha Castillo: That’s My Music—Growing Up with the Carpenters

Post author:Bart Greenberg
Post published:March 7, 2025
Reading time:3 mins read

Natasha Castillo

That’s My Music—Growing Up with the Carpenters

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, March 1, 2025

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

The charming Natasha Castillo brought her appreciation of the Carpenters and their impact on her life back to Don’t Tell Mama. With the unusual combo of guitar (Ted Stafford, who also provided sweet backup vocals) and drums (Don Kelly), and musical arrangements by director Lennie Watts, Stafford, and Castillo, the Carpenters’ songs had a fresh aspect while hewing close to the originals. Castillo used much of the stage space, sometimes sitting on the piano, which added to the variety of the show. That also helped balance the fact that many of the tunes were delivered in a medium-tempo ballad style that at times threatened to blend them together.

The clever opening that charted Castillo’s life journey both physically and emotionally included “Yesterday Once More” (Richard Carpenter/John Bettis) delivered in English and Mandarin. A medley of “Goofus” (Wayne King/William Harold/Gus Kahn) and “Sing” (Joe Raposo) had special lyrics penned by Castillo to express her connection to the Carpenters. It began with beautiful simplicity and built into a joyous expression. She discovered early on that music was one thing that she loved that loved her back. Her mother, a successful singer in her own right, had taught Castillo the Carpenters’ songs when she was a young child, and this built the bond between mother and daughter that the show celebrated.

She offered several songs by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, including “I Have You,” “Aurora,” and “Eventide.” The last two of these had some arresting imagery, which Castillo emphasized with clarity and quiet introspection. After these moody and dark selections, she turned to the more up-tempo and romantic “I Need to Be in Love” (Carpenter) and the encouraging “Look to Your Dreams” (Carpenter/Bettis). Her strange encore was the Carpenter/Bettis “Top of the World” mixed with “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” (credited to the rock band Klaatu) which made for a very quirky, surprise ending. While the show could have used even more of this theatrically, this selection provided a welcome ending to a pleasing show.

Tags: Lyricist, Wayne King, CD Reviews, American Songbook Association, Guitar, William Harold, Clubs, Great American Songbook, Sing, NYC, I Have You, composer, Broadway, ASA, songwriter, Eventide, Natasha Castillo, Cabaret, Don’t Tell Mama, Vocalists, Look to Your Dreams, John Bettis, Broadway Musicals, Yesterday Once More, CD, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, Mandarin, drums, Singer, Klaatu, English, Lennie Watts, AURORA, Director, Don Kelly, American Songbook, I Need to Be in Love, Gus Kahn, Joe Raposo, Nightclubs, That’s My Music—Growing Up with the Carpenters, Ted Stafford, Cabaret Scenes, Richard Carpenter, Musicals, Goofus, Cabaret Reviews

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."