The opening night audience was skimpy but enthusiastic. Skimpy, however, did not deter Tony-nominated Andrea McArdle. This lady proved she is a pro, giving her all with polish, good humor and, of course, those vocal pipes that won't quit. Some performers are determined to display their power belts until the eardrums cry, "Uncle." McCardle, however, with Justin Bond on piano, has formidable chops to match anyone's and yet she never overwhelms the room. It's about nuance and microphone savvy, folks, and Michael Barbieri's sound and lights did not hurt either.

If you've seen her show recently, McArdle has a backlog of backstage tales to accompany a program of mostly theater songs. She repeated some familiar favorites. I have seen her sing them at various clubs, yet she is always a theatrical performer to appreciate and enjoy in a cabaret setting. I know, for example, that she's going to sing "Tomorrow," the song she admits, her long-suffering family used to call the "T" song. "Tomorrow" is a perfect song for Strouse and Charnin's Annie, but personally, it's all a little too sunny. Audiences, however, are far less cynical and demand it, and admittedly, there is a masochistic part of me that has to smile when she gives out with the plucky, "Tomorrow! Tomorrow!/ I love ya, Tomorrow!/You're always/A day/A - way!" Somehow, all is right with the world then...isn't it? Here she also included Daddy Warbucks's view of "NYC," a more hard-nosed look but with a mushy core.

Besides Annie, McArdle has played all the female leads in Les Miserables except Madame Thénardier. No one would cast her there, she said, but with some heavy makeup, there's no doubt McArdle could be the nastiest Madame in town. She was a long-running Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and at the other extreme, she played Sally Bowles in Cabaret. She opened this show with Cabaret's title song and closed with "Maybe This Time." Maybe next time on Broadway will satisfy her current yearning to play Gypsy's Mama Rose.

If you're in town and if you discriminate enough to want the best, place this lady on top of your list.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
August 6, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org