With My Huckleberry Friend, it's an easy swing for Lynn DiMenna into the Metropolitan Room. What's not to love about the Johnny Mercer songbook, and DiMenna has long proven that she loves and understands both good music and cabaret intimacy. In addition, she brings in an appreciative audience. That's important. She has fun with the tunes and shares her enjoyment, communicating smoothly.

Directed by Linda Amiel Burns, DiMenna's tribute to the lyrics of Johnny Mercer was a crisply-paced journey through the Mercer songbook. DiMenna is not self-involved in her delivery, but music-involved, and the songs spoke for themselves. Her patter was concise, opening the door to the next song. If there was a flub, she was unflappable. A show biz thoroughbred, she bought the spirit of sweet swing into the Metropolitan Room, making energetic use of her years of hosting radio programs and singing in clubs. Michael Barbieri matched the show's spirit with light and sound design.

DiMenna admits being born just a bit too late to get the perfect gig for her talents, fronting a big band. Here, DiMenna did the next best thing. She became the gal singer in a tidy, rhythm trio with bassist Chris Higgins, David Meade on drums, and — get this, cabaret-goers — popular bass accompanist Steve Doyle moving to the piano bench as pianist and musical director.

No one could do one-night-only of all Mercer's delicious and colloquial hit songs, but DiMenna chose samples of his best-known lyrics, including the necessary Mercer Medley. The group provided a variety of easy swinging beats. Her strength lies in upbeat tempos and even the ballads morphed into rhythms that got the body parts moving. To her credit, her autumn selection did not include the standard "Autumn Leaves" and she chose instead the less familiar "Early Autumn," a moody introspection of love and memories.

Entertainment was the goal here, and DiMenna, firmly in her comfort zone, reached it with good humor and contagious songs.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
May 2, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org