The Seven Deadly Sins offer juicy possibilities for musical expression.  They’ve inspired Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, numerous rockers and rappers, and a concert work for Audra McDonald. Not recycling those song cycles, Joshua Warr plucks “sinful” songs from various genres: Cole Porter’s “Let’s Misbehave,” the Johnny Cash hit, “Ring of Fire,” etc. This, his debut show, shows potential as it begins unspooling the sins. The sin he commits as a performer is a tendency to come off too often as smug. This becomes tiresome. Admittedly, it works for illustrating Pride. But he tends to pose, preen, and present songs in a studied way rather than inhabit them. Choreographed pieces with female dancers are diverting and he’s a skilled dancer. He could stick with a slick and smooth song-and-dance act with vaudeville and sass and do just fine, but he’s flirting with cabaret and emotional connection. There are signs it can happen: vulnerability is visible through the veneer. A surprisingly tender “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” aided by the sensitive piano work of Tracy Stark, is disarming. Showing more range vocally and emotionally would be welcome—and there are signs he can make the leap, not just strut.

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
November 14, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org