So much for all the tired excuses! Bad weather, tough time of year, limited press, etc.! Nancy Dussault, veteran stage and TV actress, had all these to deal with and a cross-country flight into New York from California the night before. Yet, in her debut appearance at the Metropolitan Room, she had a full house and managed to do everything and then some to warrant a return engagement with packed houses and possibly even an award!

To an audience that included Broadway and cabaret luminaries such as Chita Rivera, Tammy Grimes, Marilyn Maye and Lucie Arnaz, Ms. Dussault proceeded to demonstrate why her acting and singing chops, perky persona and plucky sense of humor have had her doing everything from being an original host on Good Morning America, on Broadway as Maria in The Sound of Music, Tony-nominated for her role in Do Re Mi to playing Ted Knight’s wife in the ’80s TV situation comedy, Too Close for Comfort.

And she seems so genuinely happy! I guess if you were a woman of a “certain age” and you were married, the second time around, to a handsome fellow named Valentine, you would be, too! By way of introducing her songs, we heard of their backstage meeting and then into the Coleman/Leigh “You Fascinate Me So,” their courtship and then into Gershwin/De Sylva’s “Do It Again” and their travels, followed by “Sous le ciel de Paris” (Brun/Giraud). In fact, their relationship seemed to inspire most of her song choices, particularly her medleys “It Could Happen to You“ (Burke/Van Heusen) and “They Didn’t Believe Me,” (Rourke/Kern), “Look at That Face” (Bricusse/Newley) and “Beyond Compare” (Barer/Ross) and Coleman/Leigh’s “It Amazes Me” with the Arlen/Robin “Hooray for Love.”

She artfully and skillfully captured the emotion and complexity of every song she delivered and left us clamoring for more! A nice way to start off her engagement at the Metropolitan Room and a hopeful sign that she’ll be back to “do it again” very soon!

Lynn DiMenna
Cabaret Scenes
December 13, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org