Jennifer Holliday returned to the Castro in part to bask in the glow of her large LGBT fanbase’s adulation and to honor them for supporting her in the tough times of her career. Since bursting into stardom as a result of her Tony-winning role as Effie in Dreamgirls, she became a successful recording artist in R&B, pop and gospel.  Her rendition of the torch songs “And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going” and “I Am Changing” (both from Dreamgirls) have defined her career and are received with thunderous,  tumultuous standing ovations. Her vocal mannerisms of cascading, rollercoaster notes and unusual, almost guttural blues wailing has been admired and copied by millions of wanna-be American Idol contestants and have become a cookie cutter standard of popular vocalists.

To be the original is a good thing. Holliday does have a gorgeous vocal instrument and a charming stage persona. She can sing R&B—“Hold on I’m Coming,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” gospel (“Come Sunday”) and blues (“At Last”), but every number, done in the same over-emotive, show-stopper style tends to blur the set into one overwhelming, exhausting endeavor. “Come Rain or Come Shine” starts out slow and stylish, then spins out of control. “And I Am Telling You…” deserves the emotion Holliday imparts and her powerful belting of her signature tune raises the hair on your arms. Her James Brown-like exit and reappearance took this showstopper to a new level.  Overall, I wish Holiday would rely less on the excess and more on the subtle nuances she is certainly capable of.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
November 12, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org