I’m not afraid to admit it: When it comes to Christmas songs, I go all “bah, humbug” and it’s not just because I happen to be Jewish. After all, didn’t Jews write most of our iconic holiday songs? No, I turn into a musical Grinch from Thanksgiving to December 25, because the ubiquitous nature of those songs can render you numb and the songs devoid of personality. (When an FM radio station was actually playing wall-to-wall holiday songs before Turkey Day this year, I almost suffered road rage.) Frankly, I don’t want to “hear what you hear.”

But I’m not a total holiday song Scrooge. I could listen to Nat King Cole croon “The Christmas Song” or Barbra Streisand belt “Ave Maria” for hours. When a terrific singer and a fabulous arrangement combine to transform a yuletide anthem into something that transcends the genre, I become a repentant Ebenezer on Christmas morning. And it’s that kind of giddiness I experienced when I recently heard Marieann Meringolo merrily ring in the season with her annual In the Spirit holiday show at the Metropolitan Room.

Wearing a red velvet jacket over a black blouse, she entered the room singing “Happy Holiday” before powerfully delivering “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” which sounded like a clarion call for the audience to officially welcome the holiday season. Her superb vocal range and style became evident when she then went lovely and languid on a jazzy version of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne). With a comfortable, if not charismatic, stage manner, a smooth alto sound, and an effortless delivery, Meringolo is clearly a pro on a cabaret stage. And it’s hard to go wrong when your musical director, Doyle Newmyer (whom she’s worked with for 11 years), is providing wonderful arrangements devoid of affectation or Christmas bells and whistles.

Newmyer joined Meringolo for a duet on Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which culminated in lovely harmonies. Except for an awkward exchange with her pianist before “Baby,” Meringolo kept the patter to a minimum, which was appropriate for songs that speak for themselves. There was certainly no need to amplify the soaring and stirring arrangement of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (Noel Regney/Gloria Shayne), which began as very orchestral before transforming into a jazz riff that featured great work from Brain Woodruff (drums) and Boots Maleson (bass).

Meringolo found some room for humor with David Friedman’s cabaret staple “My Simple Christmas Wish” (“Rich, Famous & Powerful”) and Alan Chapman’s “It’s Christmas and We’re Jewish,” during which she sounded a bit like Barbra Streisand, to whom she is sometimes compared. But she was absolutely Karen Carpenter-esque on “Merry Christmas, Darling,” written by Carpenter’s brother, Richard, and Frank Pooler. Other highlights included a soulful rendition of “Silent Night”/“O Holy Night” (which featured another stirring song-ending drum riff from Woodruff), “Just in Time for Christmas” (David Friedman/David Zippel), during which Meringolo built in power from beginning to end, and a snappy, jazzy arrangement on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things.”

By this point, I was visualizing Julie Andrews singing to Tiny Tim, but my Scrooginess totally evaporated during the encore, “Grown-Up Christmas List” (David Foster/Linda Thompson-Jenner). When a wonderful singer is wishing that “wars would never start…everyone would have a friend…and love would never end,” your heart would have to be filled with coal not to think that maybe Christmas music isn’t all so bad after all.

Stephen Hanks
Cabaret Scenes
December 22, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org