“I went to a marvelous party,” to quote a Noël Coward lyric.  In fact, the “party,” which celebrated the songwriter and the oncoming Christmas season, was designed as a re-creation of a soiree Sir Noël himself might have given in his heyday — an evening of songs by his contemporaries and himself, sung by an assortment of performers.

The choice of songs was excellent, as were the renditions.  Among the best were: Lisa Herbert finessing the lyrics of a sultry “In the Still of the Night” (Cole Porter), combined with a sweet, smooth “It’s Only a Paper Moon” (Billy Rose/E. Y. “Yip” Harburg/Harold Arlen); a mellow “Mean to Me” (Roy Turk/Fred E. Ahlert) by Pierre Chambers, who made it all sound improvised as he enunciated the lyrics in a staccato fashion as if he was playing an instrument; and Mitch Ellis delivering a devastatingly funny reading of Coward’s “I Went to a Marvelous Party,” finding different ways to say the word “marvelous” as the song progressed.

Later in the show Chambers, Herbert and Ellis — who often perform as a trio — combined their voices on “In a Mellow Tone” (Duke Ellington/Milt Gabler), their glorious voices in three-part harmony washing over the audience like a warm breeze on a cold night.

Johnnie Torres donned a black sombrero with red tassels to deliver a hilarious version of Coward’s “Nina,” about the girl from Argentina who wouldn’t dance. He also joined with Jane Dominik on Porter’s “You’re the Top,” which was marred by the omission by pianist Karen Hernandez of an entire verse that left the singers scrambling at the end of the song.

Dominik came back to sing a lovely, plaintive “What’ll I Do?” (Irving Berlin), and Robyn Spangler looked and sounded like a big-band singer on a warm, lush version of “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” (William “Pat” Best/Deek Watson).  The show also featured: Cory Benjamin delivering a pleasant, easy-going “Night and Day” (Porter) and a down-and-dirty “Rocks in My Bed” (Ellington); a dreamy Patrice Quinn on Ellington’s “What Am I Here For?” and “Sophisticated Lady”; and Sylvia de la Sancha “Shaking the Blues Away” (Berlin).

Providing continuity throughout the evening was Gary Brumbaugh (pictured), opening the show with “You Better Love Me While You May” (Hugh Martin/Timothy Gray) from High Spirits, a wonderful song from a musical based on Coward’s Blithe Spirit, but technically neither a Coward song nor one from the era the show was saluting.  Brumbaugh added a jazzy take on the finale: Coward’s “If Love Were All.”

The show, produced by Dolores Petersen, featured Hernandez providing excellent piano work, except as noted, accompanied by Tony Dumas on bass.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
December 3, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org