It was Rebecca Schrag's debut solo cabaret performance, but the audience was on her side from the outset as she kept them entertained with tales of her youth and growing up.  Like many a cabaret newcomer, she relied heavily on autobiographical material, and the predominately young audience related to her reminiscences and to her ingratiating personality with obvious pleasure.

An acknowledged fan of soul music, folk and country, Schrag kept her song list in that comfortable territory, and her low, throaty voice did well with her material. It was difficult to decide whether the narrow vocal range shared by virtually all of her selections was their appeal to Schrag, or whether the lyrics had such an importance to her that the melodies took second place.  Regrettably, because of their similarity, many of the songs lost their individuality, and the show would have benefited from a greater variety of material.  Significantly, the one song in which Schrag broke the mold was the best of her repertoire.  “Blueberry Pie” called forth an animation and variety that presented her as a more three-dimensional vocalist than her other numbers permitted and, to this listener, indicated an obvious possibility for a cabaret show with a broader appeal.

Schrag's musical director, Josh Dowdes, did well, considering the tunes he had to work with, but his occasional instrumental breaks displayed a pianist with much greater style than most of the program's numbers allowed.  Randy Lester was technical director.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
March 12, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org