Frank Dain

A Celebration (24 Years in the Making)

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, October 16, 2025

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Frank Dain took off his editor’s cap for this publication long enough to put on an elegant outfit and take the stage of Don’t Tell Mama to celebrate his return to performing solo after a 13-year recess and the release of his first CD in 24 years. His new show mixed selections from both recordings. Most of the songs for this show were classic selections from the Great American Songbook with an emphasis on ballads. The majority of the numbers were arranged by the brilliant Kathleen Landis, who also served as music director and pianist. There we a few notable arrangemenrs by the late Rick Jensen, who worked on the first recording. Boots Maleson on bass and Ted Stafford on guitar added to the musical tapestry of the show, under the direction of Lennie Watts along with strong contributions by Kurt Peterson.

Dain is a classic crooner—a balladeer who invested quiet but intense emotions into each of his songs. Although he concentrated on romantic ballads, every so often he bestowed a smile on the audience that was pure sunshine. His comments, not really formal patter, were charming and genuine, as he explained the origins of the project, shared some off-beat show biz experiences with Landis, and saluted his relationship with his late husband of 30 plus years, Bill Sensenbrenner, to whom many of the love songs were dedicated.

Some of those songs included Bart Howard’s “I’ll Be Easy to Find,” which featured flawless phrasing by Dain; Maury Yeston’s “Unusual Way (In a Very Unusual Way)” featuring some splendid Spanish guitar by Stafford, and a highly erotic “Sleepy Man” (Robert Waldman/Alfred Uhry). Additional highlights included a smokey delivery of “I Cover the Waterfront” (Edward Heyman/Johnny W. Green) that seemed the epitome of film noir, and a truly heartbreaking “It Never Was You” (Maxwell Anderson/Kurt Weill), which would be the highlight of any evening of cabaret. Bringing things to the close was his delivery of “Hello, Young Lovers” (Oscar Hammerstein II/Richard Rodgers) that was both joyous and bittersweet at the same time. What all of these moments had in common was Dain’s fine skills as a storyteller who focused on the lyrics and told their tales to the audience. Hopefully, he won’t stay away for so long before he brings his talents back to the cabaret stage.