Some trips to CabaretLand find performers suffering from fits of glitz, stewed in Diva attitude, and can weary us from being oh-so-serious. My vote for the antidote is the refreshing, down-to-earth company of Amy Wolk. Making it all look easy—no big deal (it’s her job)—she can belt, knock out rock tunes, nail ballads, but it’s always an extension of her folksy Wolksy speaking voice. Thus, it all feels real and direct, if sometimes overly brash. With extended, very funny rants about things and people that drive her nuts, she’s also a standout stand-up comic. One hilarious segment rages at song lyrics’ grammar that ain’t proper and she straightfacedly sings bits of “corrected” versions (“One fewer bell to answer…”).

Also ever-able to shift gears and provide drive, her traveling companion is pianist Steven Ray Watkins,  occasionally singin’; energy never lags. Some ho-hum hum-along rock-pop doesn’t soar, but wait … ”Flaws and All,” recorded/co-written by Beyoncé, is a revelation: Amy’s casual, slightly tough good-gal persona fades, there’s vulnerability, nuance in facial expressions and phrasing, and unlike many “singing actors,” she truly seems to be addressing and communicating with an actual person. It’s a scene. It’s superb. And Amy is super.

(Amy Wolk performs in the latest in the Friends with Benefits variety show series to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on December 14 at the Metropolitan Room

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
November 9, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org