Rachel Menconi tells her story of the stage-struck young woman from the ‘burbs who always knew what she wanted. When she stated that she knew she must have the part of Adelaide in Guys and Dolls there was no doubt she would get it as she is indeed perfect for the role, both vocally and personally.  She is a cute, vivacious, in-your-face “gal” able to show vulnerabilty and strength as she describes the ins and outs of a Broadway hopeful going through the grind of endless auditions and frustrations.

The familiar story was not as tiresome as it could have been, nor was it earth shattering.  A comfortable middle-of-the road experience, it passed quickly and pleasantly.  Ms. Menconi has a standard Broadway-style voice that had quality and richness but was somewhat uneven at times.  In some tunes, such as “Adelaide’s Lament,” she was on the money with a focused belt, but in other tunes her registers seemed to be uneven and in need of some work.  I would suggest that a lighter approach in the mid-voice would lead to a firmer and easier mix—a quality that eludes many otherwise gifted singers.

In a nice selection of tunes, my favorites included Sondheim’s “More” and “Sooner or Later.” Menconi was also able to pull much pathos out of the hackneyed lyric of “Climbing Uphill” by Jason Robert Brown:

“When I walk in the room, There’s a table of men
Always men, usually gay –Who’ve been sitting, like I have,
And listening all day
To two hundred girls
Belting as high as they can!”

As my mother would say “enough already, I have heard this kvetch a million times!!" That said, Menconi was able to render it movingly due to her authentic experiences with these matters.

Rachel, unlike many Broadway hopefuls, wrote some of her own material, a couple of sweet tunes such as “Don't Even Try” and the simply titled “Life.”

Melody Breyer-Grell
Cabaret Scenes
July 18, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org