The title of KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler’s show at the Savoy — Time After Time: Celebrating the American Songbook — may seem a bit ambitious, but it’s just Truth in Advertising.  In the course of just over two hours, the duo covered around forty songs with music by the likes of Porter, Berlin and the Gershwins.  Only Stephen Sondheim was short-changed, being represented by a set of songs from Gypsy and a lively performance of  “Old Friends.”

Mr. Nadler’s formidable talents as pianist, singer and comic — to say nothing of his brilliance as an arranger — dominated the evening. He used Berlin’s “I Love a Piano,” for example, as a platform for a hilarious musical slapstick routine.  Ms. Sullivan, by contrast, often seemed to be a bit fragile, both physically and vocally, as though coping with an illness or injury.  When she was fully present, however, she was a delight.

Chuck Lavazzi
Cabaret Scenes
March 27, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org