Chris Barrett
Welcome Back Again
Pangea, NYC, May 15, 2026
Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker
It’s not often that one enters a cabaret room filled with people you don’t know and an hour later feel that you have just been welcomed into a new family. Such was the feeling at Pangea, that downtown boîte that nurtures talent in the same way Don’t Tell Mama does further uptown.
Chris Barrett made his annual visit to Pangea and warmly welcomed everyone as they entered the room. Clad in a watermelon-colored jacket, he was spot-on, seasonally speaking, and his genial interactions with guests were like a pre-cocktail cocktail. During the show he was warm and playful as gently chided latecomers and removing any hint of formality from the proceedings. He kept within his vocal range and avoided anything approaching screeching, which is so fitting for a room the size of Pangea.
Barrett got things off to a rousing start with “Hey, Look Me Over” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh) and followed with the show’s title song “Welcome Back Again” (Buddy Barnes/Steven W. Brown). He explained early on that he was known for singing the Great American Songbook, and he chose to expand that general definition with “Top of the World” (Richard Carpenter/John Bettis). His patter helped create an ambiance of being in his living room, which he acknowledged was precisely what he was trying to do. He continued—quite skillfully—to include more modern songs, such as Mama Cass Elliot’s big hit “Make Your Own Kind of Music” (Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil). Throughout the show, he managed to present newer songs next to the older standards in a way that seemed natural and not stilted.
All the songs in this show were chosen from requests he had made. He had specifically asked his fans via social media for their favorites, and he delivered them. He took liberties with the phrasing of some Cole Porter tunes, such as on “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” that made the song more accessible with every lyric clear. He did the same with Porter’s “I’m a Gigolo” to great effect. One can forget how much a song can be so well served when it’s taken out of the show for which it was written. He weaved anecdotes with the music and even joked about not hitting a note in one of the songs. Jerry Herman’s “I Won’t Send Roses” benefited from Barrett’s style, which revealed more of the import of the lyrics.
The thought occurred to me that an older singer can infuse a song with his life experience and has the courage to experiment to the benefit of the song. Barrett encouraged the audience to join in on “Que Sera, Sera (What Will Be, Will Be)” (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans). Being old isn’t so bad—you say what you want—nothing matters, really” was a bit of wisdom that he shared with us. He concluded with another perennial “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg).
Despite Barrett’s claim that he had never been acknowledged by the elite cabaret community, the audience’s enthusiasm and sheer joy proved that with the people who truly matter the most and that he was the gold standard.
