Donald Houtz is a charmer on stage. He knows how to pick good songs, how to make smooth transitions from song to song and how to justify each song in his set. But his biggest asset, and his ultimate challenge, is his big, booming Broadway baritone.  In performance, each song sounds pretty much like the one before it — starting strong, remaining strong in the middle and finishing strong, as if he is trying to show everything he can do vocally on each and every number.

What he was lacking was nuance and a variety of tones.  Although he sang each song note for note, pretty much as written, there were virtually no personal, interpretive touches.  As a result, his hard-hitting approach to “Summer Wind” (Henry Mayer/Johnny Mercer) sounded pretty much like the approach to “Hard-Hearted Hannah” (Charles Bates/Milton Ager/Jack Yellen/Bob Bigelow), and both of them sounded pretty much like his take on “Someone to Watch Over Me” (George and Ira Gershwin).

When he did vary his delivery, Houtz was more interesting to listen to.  He acknowledged as much after a lovely “My Romance” (Richard Rogers/Lorenz Hart) — sung in a softer, more mellifluous tone — when he said, “My vocal coach Peisha [McPhee] said I should use my natural voice more.”

Houtz also used more of his natural voice on a beautiful version of (“Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair” (Billy Barnes) — except for an extended note on the final “long,” which he made into two syllables, punctuated by an H in the middle, that broke the tender mood.

His big voice did work extremely well on some numbers, particularly “Cry Me a River” (Arthur Hamilton), where he had to keep up with stunning instrumental support from Tom Zygmont on drums, Tim Emmons on bass and Steven Applegate, his Musical Director, on piano. The irony of the words also contributed to the effectiveness of his powerful tone on the song.

The sellout audience seemed to love every moment, demanding an encore that Houtz said he wasn’t prepared for.  As a result, he did an a capella version of “I’ll Be Seeing You” (Sammy Fain/Irving Kahal) that ended the show on a sweet, quiet note.

The show was directed by Jennifer Norkin.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
February 5, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org