It takes an actor's creativity and perspective to interpret the soul and intent of a song. It takes a skilled singer to present it with style. Impressionistic, thoughtful and dramatic, Barbara Fasano is a one-woman marquee in lights. She proves it again in her latest show, Round About, at the Metropolitan Room.

Classic and focused, her searching theme begins with Rodgers and Hart's "Where or When." What is love all about, when did it begin, where did it begin? "Oh, the tricks your mind can play!" Behind her, musical director/pianist, John di Martino explores the same questions with his exquisitely inquisitive harmonies.

In an energizing "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (Arlen/Koehler), Fasano stresses words and phrasing for emphasis before musing into Wilder and Engvick's intense "Moon and Sand," painting pictures of the midnight sea, the fragrant night and the soft sand. With Fasano's soignee looks, a sleek scarlet gown, and her splendid scale of emotion, the listener is in her grasp. Also by Alec Wilder, this time with Fran Landesman's lyrics, "Photographs" seems straightforward but it gathers poignancy with the repetitive line of finding yet another photo of, "me in love with you." As her title song, "Round About" (Weill/ Nash), illustrates life's experiences, "the more they change, the more they are the same;" love, disappointments and joy -- "it's round about once more."

Fasano includes a mix of songs less well known along with the familiar, "Let's Fall in Love" (Arlen/Kohler), "My Shining Hour" (Arlen/Mercer) and a crackling Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," which she evolves into a dramatic, well-crafted play. Her encore, "That Something Extra Special," a ballad from an unsuccessful theatre production by Julie Styne and Yip Harburg, articulately answers the questions from Fasano's opening song, "Where or When." Defined are the "extra special" qualities that proclaim what love is all about. The song also highlights "that something extra special" that adds up to a program of imagination, style, musicianship and drama; qualities that define Barbara Fasano in possibly her best show yet.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
June 29, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org