No Santa, no dreidel, no jingling bells, but with Cold  Comfort, Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano lit the Metropolitan Room with an emotional glow on two December evenings.  No night is chilly when this popular couple delivers John Wallowitch's invitation to "Come a Little Closer," Comstock's whispery "Speak Low" (Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash) and the ardor Fasano invests in Weill and Ira Gershwin's "My Ship."

Comstock and Fasano have developed into an eclectic, engaging musical duo, but each has impressive talents and they find selections to reflect those individuality.  Fasano, shimmering in a sheath of silver, quips that the gown is all tinsel—"It's good to recycle."  She oozes a Lena Horne brand of soignée, singing with intensity that spells heart and also the mind.  She is a standout singing Fran Landesmann and Alec Wilder's evocative, "Photographs," remembering her Brooklyn days as a child peeking through the banister as her parents slow-danced.  She reveals some missed opportunities back in the day with Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road."

Husband Eric Comstock followed another road as an offbeat, brooding NYU student/Lorenz Hart aficionado – "The Rimbaud of Washington Square."  Now older, wiser, his lyrical muse is still Lorenz Hart, bringing up the image with Rodgers and Hart's "It Never Entered My Mind."  It isn't all Hart, of course.  Comstock delivers Finian's Rainbow's "That Great Come and Get It Day" by Burton Lane and "Yip" Harburg, introducing it as his favorite socialist spiritual.

How many times lately have you heard "Namely You," a jaunty tune from Li'l Abner (DePaul and Mercer)?  From the pop songbook, some may remember "I Want a Little Girl," a Doc Cheatham favorite.  This is deliciously paired with Fasano sliding onto the bench with him to add her sultry "Hurry On Down," which was a '40s hit for Nellie Lutcher (both by Menscher, Moll and Lutcher).

Two of cabaret's classic—and classy—performers, they chose "Nowadays" from Kander and Ebb's Chicago, to acknowledge:

"In 50 years or so
It's gonna change, you know
But oh, it's heaven,
Nowadays."

Comstock and Fasano get it:  Enjoy life today.  They often recall the past for musical gems but their ear is with the latest news.  What Comstock and Fasano understand is the value of well-crafted songs.  What they never fail to evoke is the wit of the lyrics and the disparity of emotions simmering beneath the surface.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
December 13, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org