If you want to hear some terrific songs sung in a nice, easy manner, Tom Culver is the cabaret artist to go see. As he explained, he sings the basic melody lines “but with a little samba beat.”

There are no histrionics or big moments in his show—just one good song after another, all well sung.  What Culver lacks in dramatic flair, he more than makes up in the sheer enjoyment he has in singing and the way he communicates that joie de vivre to his audience.

In a show devoted to the lyrics of Johnny Mercer, it was hard not to attain a very high entertainment quotient, and Culver entertained splendidly, sharing songs both familiar and less so. Among the lesser-known gems was “Love’s Got Me in a Lazy Mood,” with music by Eddie Miller—a laid-back song about not rushing things (“Days go by like caterpillars do … our love has got me in a lazy mood”) that Culver described as “so Southern, so Mercer.” Most were Mercer standards, two of which made the audience sigh with recognition and apparent contentment: “Skylark,” with music by Hoagy Carmichael; and “I Thought About You,” written with Jimmy Van Heusen.

Culver ratcheted the emotions in the room up a bit with solid versions of “That Old Black Magic,” written with Harold Arlen, and “On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe,” with Harry Warren, which Culver sang in a jazzy, off-melody style.

He made brief comments about nearly every song, based on his conversations with Mercer’s daughter, Amanda, and sang what he said was her favorite song in her father’s vast songbook: “Love in a Home,” from Li’l Abner, written with Gene DePaul.

Culver was accompanied by a strong trio of musical director Rick Hills on piano, Lou Shoch on bass, and Noel Kendrick on drums.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
April 25, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org