For those who love the songs of Rodgers and Hart, Carol Shedlin’s new show is a must! Singing the wonderful verses with each gem, some standards and many rarities, Shedlin illuminates the lyrics with grace and style.

Shedlin opens with the full verse and chorus to the title song from On Your Toes and announces with her second number, "I Feel At Home With You," her affinity for Lorenz Hart. Both of them were children of Jewish immigrants, both of them went to the same summer camp, and both of them arrived with books because they weren’t sports oriented: Hart with the complete works of Shakespeare, Shedlin with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In her research she learned that Fitzgerald considered Hart "the poet laureate of the U.S."

Ably supported by music director Jon Delfin on the piano and Saadi Zain on bass, Shedlin describes all the joy and heartbreak in Hart’s lyrics. On a bitter duet, (reminiscent of "I Wish I Were In Love Again") "Sentimental Me," (from Garrick Gaieties) Shedlin trades insults with Delfin who has a very pleasant singing voice and a dry George Sanders-like delivery. Shedlin discusses how as a young virgin she traveled with 13 schoolmates to Venice, Italy and was taught "You Took Advantage of Me" from Present Arms, not quite understanding the lyrics until the Italian beach boys starting wooing her. She sings it very innocently first and then, after discussing the beach boys, repeats it with knowledge of all the sexual innuendo in the lyrics. A further highlight is the rarely sung "Imagine" from Babes in Arms.

Shedlin tells us she chose "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" from Jumbo as her wedding waltz. She sings the lyric without gender change and the song holds up (Ethel Merman also sang it that way). The marriage did not work out so she heartbreakingly sings the rare verse to "Nobody’s Heart" from By Jupiter together with "Ship Without A Sail" from Heads Up, showing us the unrequited love and unhappiness in Hart’s soul.

Two more rare witty duets with Delfin are "Did You Ever Get Stung" from I Married an Angel and "You Are So Fair" from Babes in Arms. Shedlin gets serious again with a plaintive song about her ideal love, "Dancing on the Ceiling" from Ever Green and "Isn’t It Romantic" from Love Me Tonight, sung with many, many of the witty choruses. She rocks with "I’ve Got Five Dollars" before finishing with a beautiful "Yours Sincerely," leaving her audience, which included many cabaret singers, longing for more.

Carol Shedlin I Feel At Home With You: The Lyrics of Lorenz Hart repeats at Don’t Tell Mama on September 24, 2008.

Joe Regan, Jr.
Cabaret Scenes
September 18, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org