Karen Oberlin and Miles Phillips, two of cabaret’s most gifted (and awarded) performers, met years ago backstage at a Nightlife Awards show. Since then they have been talking about doing a show together. She did her Doris Day, Andre Previn, and Yip Harburg shows with time out for marriage, a move upstate, and a son. Miles performed and directed several individual cabaret shows and theater performances, and won the MAC Hanson Award and the well-deserved MAC Award for Best Male Vocalist for last year’s Quiet Stars. A few months ago, right after Miles’ MAC win, they determined to do this show together, a combination of their love of jazz and theater, and, above all, their love for cabaret. Getting together with another 2008 MAC Award winner, pianist/arranger/music director Tracy Stark, this collaboration did not disappoint, and created a show that is a must see.

At the Metropolitan Room, submerged in darkness, Miles emerges from the audience in midnight blue suit with navy pinstriped shirt. He begins with the lovely verse to "How The Other Half Lives" from Thoroughly Modern Millie. After the verse and into the first chorus, Karen Oberlin, dressed in a beautiful spaghetti strapped blue and white patterned gown, joins him. As they sing together (with all-new lyrics by Phillips), they joke about their diverse backgrounds, and their patter and vocals are augmented by the remarkable arrangement and piano playing of Tracy Stark.

They sail right into Rodgers & Hart’s "I Wish I Were In Love Again," done playfully, back and forth and together, demonstrating great joy in what they are doing together, with a funny side comment from Stark (a little "tick tock" after "I don’t like quiet").

Miles begins "Java Jive" and Karen sings "Black Coffee" in countermelody. Suddenly, Tracy pops in with her own composition, "Coffee," a witty observation of caffeine addition which they end up singing together:

"Coffee - caffeine attack
Coffee - I like it black
Coffee - sets me free
Mother Nature’s Artificial Energy!"

Alone, Karen Oberlin takes on "50 Percent" from Ballroom. Most performers sing this song all out, in a big voice, ascending to climactic crescendos (think Dorothy Loudon and Judi Connelli and other cabaret divas) but Karen takes a different approach. She takes a subtly soft, deliberate, casual, shoulder-shrugging approach, accepting the heartbreak in a gentle, sad style that makes the song so much more moving and devastating than the big dramatic approach. It is a great and inspired reinvention of a powerful song!
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Phillips and Oberlin's next duet is "Still In Love With You," a beautiful Billy Strayhorn song from Rose Colored Glasses.

They have in common their respect and love for Doris Day. Miles loves one special song, "My Romance," from Jumbo. He sings it at a leisurely pace, demonstrating all his skills as a talented actor, in a sincere, quiet performance supported by great work by Stark, who makes the piano sound like a full string orchestra. We know Miles has the voice for the big finish, but except for the lead-in to the last lines, he holds back and exquisitely delivers the last lines, "my romance doesn’t need a thing but you," as quiet joy.

They joke about their favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein show. Both have been in theater productions of The Sound of Music. Oberlin played Brigitta as a child; Miles played Kurt at age 9, then the Nazi, Rolf, at 21, and most recently, Captain Von Trapp, which he has recorded. Together they sing with great affection the Rodgers song added to the movie, "Something Good." Discussing the current hit revival of South Pacific, they sing the verse to "Many A New Day" from Oklahoma!, segueing into a hysterically comic version of "I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," Miles singing without changing the sex, Tracy joining them for brief solo lines, and a finish in three part harmony. The humor is contagious.

Another Richard Rodgers work was a delightful "We’re Gonna Be All Right," the Rodgers-Sondheim song from Do I Hear A Waltz. After singing the Broadway version, they change the mood and wryly sing the original Sondheim lyrics which Rodgers wouldn’t allow in the show, the bitter ones about how ugly everything is in the relationship:

"All is well
At least as far as their friends can tell
Please ignore the peculiar smell...
Sometimes she drinks in bed
Sometimes he’s homosexual
They keep it out of sight
Heigh ho, they’re gonna be all right
Heigh ho, we’re gonna be all right."

The parts are reversed (he sings the female, she sings the male) and it is another demonstration of Oberlin and Phillips’ superior acting and singing chops.

They also have a mutual admiration society for Jerome Kern. Miles begins the verse of "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" from High Wide and Handsome, then (framed by a beautiful red sunset lighting on the scrim by the Metropolitan Room’s Michael Barbieri), the two glorious voices give us one of the best performances of one of the greatest love songs ever written.

Afterwards, Tracy leaves the stage, and for their encore Karen and Miles sit on the piano bench together and sing, acapella, another Doris Day song directly to the audience. It is the beautiful "I’ll Never Stop Loving You" from the movie Love Me or Leave Me. This act is a thing of beauty to be cherished!

Two honored cabaret performers are performing at their best. The Pleasure of Your Company should not be missed. They will add additional songs for each future performance so it’s worth seeing more than once, more than twice.

The Pleasure of Your Company will be repeated at the Metropolitan Room on September 14 and October 12 at 4 p.m. The Metropolitan Room is 34 West 22 Street, New York, NY (between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue) and reservations (212 206-0440) are strongly advised.

Karen and Miles also will be appearing at Barnes and Noble's free Any Wednesday series at Lincoln Square Wednesday, September 3 at 6 p.m., singing songs from their CDs and some songs from this show.

Karen Oberlin will repeat her critically acclaimed The Wizard of Words: Yip Harburg’s Songs of Wit & Wisdom on October 29 at 9:45 p.m. at the Metropolitan Room immediately following opening night of the Mabel Mercer Foundation Cabaret Convention, and will also appear in the convention itself on closing night, November 1, at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall.

Miles Phillips will be at Feinstein’s Monday, November 17 at 8:30 p.m. 

Joe Regan, Jr.
Cabaret Scenes
August 17, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org