Simply lovely. That sums up the singer, the songs and the style of Maureen Kelley Stewart’s new, sweet-spirited show, Heart's Desire, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe. Radiant and at ease, her blonde hair shining above a simple black dress, Maureen wove together a warm-hearted tapestry of standards, contemporary songs and show classics, performing them with understanding and affection that connected right to her audience's hearts.

Particularly moving were Jason Robert Brown's "Stars and the Moon," Amanda McBroom's "Dreaming," Marc Blitzstein's "I Wish It So," and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might As Well Be Spring." A change of pace was Noel Coward's "In a Bar on the Piccolo Marina," which needs a dollop more pepper than Maureen projects, and Stephen Sondheim's whimsical "A Parade in Town." Maureen's brief, relaxed and relevant remarks between songs offer a fine lesson in "let’s go on with the show." High praise to music director Don Rebic and director Eric Michael Gillett for permitting Maureen's talent to move center stage with ease and charm.

Maureen returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with Heart's Desire October 3 at 7:30 pm & October 4 at 9:30 pm.

Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
September 16, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org