Marilyn Maye
54 Below, NYC, April 17, 2025
Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker
Photo by Maryann Lopinto
The lights dimmed, and videos of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson appeared on a screen and set the scene for the evening. In the video, Carson introduced the Marilyn Maye of a half-century ago, who was the singer whose talent brought her back to Johnny’s vaunted couch more than 70 times during the show’s run. Bedecked in a sparkling red-sequined pantsuit, Maye sang Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret” with the verve and style that are her signature.
As the audience enjoyed that performance, the current Maye ascended the stage and was ready to continue the concert in real time. What a curious creature stood before us: she lovingly gazed at the audience like one’s favorite teacher on the first day of school, the one who would become so instrumental in one’s development. Dressed in black with blue and silver bugle beads galore, she could have been a wizard, poised to share the secrets of life. And when she turned, the beads seemed to form wings on her back; perhaps she was a guardian angel of sorts.
Well, she was all this and more. She made the audience feel that she has adopted them for the hour they are together. Perfectly coiffed, groomed, and manicured, with outstanding jewelry of the finest quality, she was the quintessence of style for a female performer. During the show, which was a salute to Carson in his centennial birth year, she told us parts of the story of her life through her song choices. She was accompanied by her trusty trinity of musical thoroughbreds led by musical director Ted Rosenthal on piano, with Tom Hubbard on bass, and Daniel Glass on drums. Maye cajoled and schmoozed with the trio throughout the show, which gave the evening the air of being at a private party. As a tribute to Carson, classic photos of him were shown on the screen while Maye lovingly sang Kern and Hammerstein’s “The Song Is You.”
Maye has a gift for combining songs in a way that highlights the message of the lyrics in a magical way. It also poetically turned the songs into vignettes of her life. In this way, she put her own stamp on a song. An example of this came after she discussed the demise of a recent love affair and then sang “Those Were the Days” (Boris Fomin/Gene Raskin) and “I Will Survive” (Freddie Perren/Dino Fekaris). By tweaking the lyrics a bit, this became a hilarious kiss-off.
Maye knows how to handle an audience, especially one composed of people who had traveled to hear her. Her voice is still strong, and after claiming to be age 79 (she;’s 97), she admitted jokingly that she’s always been dyslexic. She encouraged us to clap along as she sang “Let Me Be There” (John Rostill).
She concluded the show by asking the audience “It’s a joyous show, isn’t it?” rather coquettishly, followed by “It’s Today” (Jerry Herman) and did her famous high kicks—a total of six times—during the song. She ended the show as she had begun with “Cabaret.” Yes, dear Marilyn, it was quite a joyous show, and for that we thank you.
