Carly Ozard is a working things out (hence the show title), heading in the right directions, with talent and vivaciousness to spare. With her background in musical theater (which she lampoons in the hilarious “Alto’s Lament” about sopranos having to constantly sing alto in the chorus), selling a song comes second nature to Carly. There are remnants from her previous show, Bitter and Be Gay, which relied heavily on comic numbers regarding the foibles of dating gay men, particularly the cleverly re-written special material medley of The Producers’ “Keep It Gay” and Leonard Bernstein and Richard WIlbur’s “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide, and her take on “Bewitched, Bothered and Bipolar” sung to the tune of the popular Rodgers and Hart song with special lyrics by San Francisco’s master lyricist Tom Orr.

This new incarnation, developed after Carly won the Cabaret Showcase Showdown 2009, and was named “Best New Cabaret Performer, 2009,” finds her exploring an introspective emotional side in songs like upbeat folk philosophy of a song from the repertoire of The Indigo Girls, “Closer To Fine,” and a sweet version of Charlie Smalls’ “What Would I Do If I Could Feel” from The Wiz. Paul Simon’s “Something So Right” fits Ozard like a glove. She’s breaking down walls and letting her experiences wash over her. On “Flight,” she sings of unabashedly moving forward in life, through the routines and struggles to find new territory. She chose to close the show with the boldly declarative Andre and Dory Previn’s “You’re Gonna Hear From Me” and the lyric suits Ozard’s status at the moment:

“Move over, sun, and give me some sky/ I got me some wings I'm eager to try/ I may be unknown/ But wait till I've flown/ You're gonna hear from me!”

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
January 9, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org