If you really want to create an ambience, put some Swarovski crystals under your eyes, add make-up, a sexy bustier and a lavalier. Then, perform your songs fluently in English, French and German, with some of the songs reminiscent of Dietrich and Piaf. That’s what femme fatale Caroline Nin does so beautifully in Scarlet Stories. It really summons up the feeling of Weimar Berlin and of deeper, darker Paris. It’s a shadowy mood set for adventure which starts with an intense Brel-esque version of “Irma la Douce.”

When Caroline Nin is good, she’s terrific, while always sexy and mysterious. Some of the evening’s highlights were “Faut pas qu’il se figure,” where her voice was beautiful, a deeply emotional “Amsterdam,” the uber-red “Libertango,” and a great arrangement of “Losing My Mind” (which was her encore, and didn’t really seem to fit into the premise of her show). My favorite song was “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)” which showed off her voice to its fullest.

I do have some criticisms, though. I realize her show is very stylized, but sometimes Caroline’s movements seem just a little bit over-choreographed. There were also times when she was standing at the mic and looked a bit awkward because the mic was too low. Most importantly, while she soars on certain songs, she seems inconsistent in others, and sometimes less emotionally engaged. Two songs in particular, “The One and Only You” (which Marc Almond wrote for her) and “Ne me quitte pas,” felt less connected to me, interestingly, both of which I’m sure have strong emotional resonance with Caroline. Perhaps a keen directorial eye might tighten things up. Still, when I hearken back to the evening, what I remember most is the wonderfully unique atmosphere Caroline created. Chapeau!

Harold Sanditen
Cabaret Scenes
April 15, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org