After opening with a rousing medley of “Let Me Entertain You” and “They All Laughed,” Laura Benanti asked the crowd at the Kennedy Center, “Just by a show of hands, who here is related to me?” referencing the number of DC-based relatives she had in the audience. However, her sparkling personality made even non-relatives feel like they were being entertained at her family reunion. Not only were there stories about her sister, uncle and grandmother, she brought her mother (who is also her longtime voice teacher) on stage for a duet of “Children Will Listen.”

Benanti has one of the most mesmeric soprano voices in the theater today. When she deploys it on a song like “Unusual Way” or “The Sound of Music,” the effect is absolutely captivating. Her version of “On the Steps of the Palace” was the savviest interpretation of Cinderella that I’ve experienced, and she proved that she could swing (“Alright, OK, You Win”) or do a charm number (“Linda”) with equal ease. However, she backs the singing with a very clear, interesting interpretive point of view which never sacrifices meaning to vocal effect. In fact, one of the highlights of the concert was the way she handled the spoken review passage in the Harry Chapin song “Mr. Tanner.”

During this outing, Benanti showed that, had her career taken a different direction, she could have had a successful career in stand-up. The highlight of the show was her “Inappropriate Medley” in which she attacked with relish such atypical soprano fare as “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” “Ol’ Man River,” “I Like Big Butts” and “Proud Mary.” All was ably supported by the terrific piano work of Mary-Mitchell Campbell, who was responsible for the re-orchestrations in the recent Broadway revivals of Company and Sweeney Todd.

The old adage says, “Talent is what you can get away with.” Yes, some of Benanti’s patter passages rambled a bit, some of the song choices were less than inspiring, and we really didn’t need to see the enlarged photo of her at twelve. But Benanti’s winning, somewhat daffy, amazingly open personality and presentation made those objections moot. And after she concluded her concert with “One More Kiss,” the audience leapt to one of the loudest, longest ovations I have experienced in this series.

Michael Miyazaki
Cabaret Scenes
April 30, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org