It’s fashionably correct when performing at the Algonquin’s Oak Room to invoke the spirit of, and pay homage to, Dorothy Parker, is it not? It’s a pre-requisite for the willowy, sultry contralto Karen Akers. You’ll see what I mean!

The statuesque Akers’ new show Move On, as she explains, is dedicated to beginning again, to the challenge of starting over. We plan, things happen, Mother Nature laughs! We reach a crossroads in life - do I go right, do I go left?  “Pack up the luggage, la, la, la… (excerpt from Sondheim’s “The Glamorous Life”) – and the journey begins with the jazzy refrain “I’m Checking Out” (Shel Silverstein) "of this heartbreak hotel…found a new love and a new place to dwell,’" “Ready To Begin Again,” Lieber & Stoller’s very Weill-like tempo, amusing and poignant.  ("When my teeth are rinsed in a glass by my bed, and my hair lies somewhere in a drawer…But I put in my teeth, and I slap on my hair…and I’m ready to begin again.") So one “Moves On” (Sondheim) with Parker poem “The Choice” intertwined, segueing into “Where Do You Start?” (Mandel/Bergman).  And that’s the Dorothy Parker connection, weaving Parker poetry through the songs as an elaboration. She’s “a voice demanding to be heard” says Karen!

The sadness of the Goldenberg/Bergman songs from Ballroom; “Job Application,” (the interjection of Parker’s “Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom” "…bed awaits me in the end…I’m a fool to rise at all") to Angie said there’s “A Terrific Band and A Real Nice Crowd” and maybe someone to meet. A highlight is Francesca Blumenthal’s “Between Men” with its clever, catchy and comical lyrics. Other songs included are “At The Rialto” (Kander/Ebb), “My Garden” and “I Was Here” (both Flaherty/Ahrens) and the tearful “Hope Floats” (Brourman/McBroom).

Admittedly, Akers loves researching material for a new show and is prone to insomnia and free floating anxiety. All those sleepless nights with Award winning director Eric Michael Gillett at her side has helped craft and create this high level theatrical piece. This is a story that requires a powerful, direct approach, someone with impeccable diction, an enthralling, dramatic chanteuse — Karen Akers!

Most of the songs would not be familiar to the greater audiences, especially those out-of-towners, The Joneses from Michigan. This is probably the great flaw. The show is a tasty morsel for the savvy inner-circle New Yorker and cabaret enthusiast relishing the intricate, thought-provoking superiority. But a few more familiar songs wouldn’t have been a detriment either! 

With musical Ddirector Don Rebic at the piano and Dick Sarpola on bass, Karen Akers can be seen thru June 14^th at the beautiful Oak Room.

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
May 14, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org