Lorna Luft commands the stage like a prized thoroughbred. Culled from the cloth of the greatest of the big belters, Luft has accepted and embraced the Garland legacy and steamrolls her way through her set with a consistent barrage of high energy numbers characterized by her trademark power notes and vibrato. Opening with a lovely "You Don’t Know Me," Luft presented material from her long theatrical history, her personal association with great songwriters and a few selections from her Garland tribute show.

Medleys from Rodgers and Hart ("My Funny Valentine," "The Lady Is a Tramp," "Johnny One Note"), composer Peter Allen ("I Coul Marry the Rain," "Don’t Cry Out Loud," "I Go to Rio") and Burt Bacharach ("Alfie," "I Say a Little Prayer," "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me")  displayed Luft’s brassy give-it-your-all delivery. Softer numbers, like a sensational "By Myself"/"Best Friend," "Where or When" and Jerry Herman’s "Time Heals Everything," allow Luft a chance to rest the pipes and put her heart and soul into a lyric.

She plays to the last seat in a big house and has the vocal power to accommodate. Her Garland classics ("San Francisco" and "Rockabye Your Baby WIth a DIxie Melody") emulate Mamma with distinction. Rather than competing with her legacy, Luft has developed and cultivated her own talents as an individual performer worthy of her fans adulation.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
August 25, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org