Since Maureen Taylor is still new to cabaret, with a background in opera, concerts, and musical theater, it is not surprising that this talented singer performed a show that is mixed, with strengths and weaknesses.

The strengths are Taylor’s fine soprano voice, which she can bring down when she wishes to lower registers; her vivacious personality, which quickly established a good rapport with her audience; and chic good looks.  She began the show in satin pants with a relatively demure jacket that she removed halfway through her songs to reveal a sexy see-through blouse that revealed exactly what she wanted to reveal.  She had changed images to sing “Dance with the Devil,” but after a few more numbers, the jacket went back on and with it the classier but more conservative Maureen Taylor emerged.

That mix was interesting but also one of the difficulties. Taylor Made purports to describe “adult puberty,” the years between 20 and 40, before she realized, in the words of songwriter Dar Williams, “You’re Aging Well,” but aging, even if life begins at 40ish. Taylor or the persona she has created sings songs about looking for love, but also for the need to stay free, as in “I Belong to Me.” One of the stand-out songs, with lyrics by Ray Jessel, was “I’m Outta Here.”

There is nothing wrong with a double perspective that includes the search for love and at the same time the quest for adventure that resists being tied down. But if the ambiguity was intentional, it was also blurred.  A theme in a show can be just a loose thread to tie together songs. But this theme seemed to be more than that, thus needing more focus.  The lack of clarity was compounded by the fact that Taylor’s lyrics and some of her patter were not always clearly enunciated. A problem seemed to be Taylor’s use of the mic.  Her voice is strong and could remain “unplugged,” and it was a relief that she did not eat the mic, holding it so close that lyrics got lost. But she often kept it under her chin and some sentences actually trailed off, their ends unheard.

This literal lack of clarity compounded the thematic ambiguities resulting from Taylor’s taking an uncertain mid-spot between a loose theme and a tightly constructed one, leaving many threads hanging.  How does Taylor (or her dramatized persona) feel about the twenty years of adult puberty? Is there regret over time going by?  Satisfaction at time well spent? Does the quest for love that dominates so many of the songs indicate that perhaps love should have trumped adventure?  It’s not clear.  It wouldn’t have to be clear—this is a cabaret show not a well-made play—except that Taylor seems to have a point of view that she doesn’t fully communicate.

Maureen Taylor has still to make the transition to cabaret.  She is an appealing performer whose songs are equally appealing. Anyone who attends the second performance on November 13 at 9:45 pm will have a good evening.

Taylor was accompanied on piano by the barefooted Mark Fifer, with Maryann McSweeney on bass. Lina Koutrakos directed the show, and J. P. Perreaux was on lights and sound. 

Barbara Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
November 6, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org