Possessed of a girlish figure and youthful features, Pilin Anice might be mistaken for someone's kid sister in a different setting.  Anice admits that she's often been cast as a child, although the evidence wasn't especially obvious as she burst upon the stage adorned in a form-fitting gold lame dress and fashionable afro.  With a background in theater, both Off-Broadway and regional (Junie B. Jones, Sweet Charity), this was Anice's cabaret debut and she made a good beginning.

She has pizzazz, humor, miles and miles of presence and a big voice.  She also has an attractive and expressive face, which enhanced her performance on tender ballads such as “The Human Heart” (Ahrens & Flaherty from Once on This Island).  Backed by two outstanding singers—Tricia Tanguy (The Marvelous Wonderettes, Cats) and Natalie Wachen (Dreamgirls, Ragtime), who bears a striking resemblance to Lonette McKee—Anice conveyed the words with soulful feeling: “Through your love you'll live forever;” and “Love Song” (Robert Smith), a hit for the British rock band The Cure.  It's a beautiful song, successfully covered by Adele, which ended like a lullaby: “However far away, I will always love you.”

Some of the songs were better suited to Anice's voice than others, and the mic was too loud, which worked against her.  The singing was much more effective in the low to middle register in tunes like “My New Philosophy” (Andrew Lippa; Sally and Schroede’s duet from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown).  Anice's playful exchange with her musical director, Aaron Berk, was funny as were the lyrics “Some philosophies...take a lifetime, mine take a minute.”  Another perfect fit was “Dear Mr. Carter,” a clever reworking of “Dear Mr. Gershwin” (Craver & Hardwick), a song from Radio Gals.  In her version, Anice recounted the time that she met the rapper Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) at a Tony Awards ceremony, still in awe since seeing him at his sports bar Club 40/40.

Perhaps the most enjoyable song of the evening was the encore: “Show Off” (Lambert & Morrison) first sung by Sutton Foster in The Drowsy Chaperone as a showgirl who must decide between a stage career and marriage, boasting of her talents while pretending to be humble. It was no less a showstopper in the hands of Anice, who clearly has a gift for musical comedy.

Much of the show consisted of terrific songs from many of Broadway's best musicals.  With such stellar material and strong support from percussionist DeWitt Fleming and Anthony Booth, Jr. on guitar, in addition to Berk, Tanguy and Wachen, the successful first outing was not a surprise.  Pilin Anice has tons of talent and the palpable drive to pursue her music career in any direction she desires.

Jerry Osterberg
Cabaret Scenes
August 8, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org