You could probably forgive Karen Gross for repeatedly referring to the Lincoln Tunnel as Philadelphia’s “Lincoln Drive” at the beginning of her recent show at Don’t Tell Mama. It was, after all, her solo debut on a New York City cabaret stage after spending her formative performing years in her hometown of Philly, so nervous mistakes were understandable and actually kind of cute. But, once she hit her comfort level on a show that she wrote and has performed many times back home, Gross delivered a fun—if not compelling—show that was a mix of song, comedy and performance art.

A tall, striking brunette in her early 30s with large seductive eyes, Angelina Jolie lips, and a body that fills a tight, black cocktail dress very nicely, it’s hard to believe that Gross would have ever dealt with the angst that comes with the singles dating scene for women in big cities. And the whole woman-musing-about-the-relationship-wars-in-song is becoming something of a cabaret cliché. Gross evidently realizes this, so the first half of her show was heavy on audience interaction, character bits, one-liners and riffs with her fine musical director, Tracy Stark. The result was a mixed bag; some of the comedy soared, some fell flat, and in delivering only five complete songs (there were also two medleys, one featuring snippets of 12 songs), Gross didn’t do enough singing to get a strong feel for her chops in that area.

In the spirit of full disclosure, this reviewer performed with Gross in a group cabaret show last winter, so I already knew she possessed a lovely alto. I didn’t know that lurking beneath the sweet singing and attractive Jewish girl exterior was the soul of Sarah Silverman. Gross began the show appropriately—if a bit tentatively—on a note of single-girl longing with the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me.” On this and other songs, she delivered a bit too much vibrato on the ends of phrases, which seemed more like a vocal crutch than a singing style. She then offered her definition of singlehood: “Lovely, lonely, heartbreaking, fattening, promiscuous—then there’s the dating.” It was the first of a few laugh-out-loud one-liners sprinkled throughout the show:

“I’m Jewish and thinking of converting to Mormon. The more men the better.”
“I’m a bisexual. If you buy me things, I will get sexual.”
“I’m not ready to have a child, but I would like to be a MILF. Can you be a MILF without the child? Maybe I could be an ILF.”

Not quite as effective were too long bits at the top of the show, including a top ten list of what Gross views as the “Worst Dating Disasters” (during which the audience was asked to shout out the numbers), followed by her reading of dating stories that had been submitted, pre-show, by the audience. Either one of these segments would have been fun on its own, but having them back to back so early in the show was a structural mistake. When she finally sang another song—“Makin’ Whoopee”—it was after stepping into a lavender bridesmaid gown, talking about being a bridesmaid four times and schmoozing with Stark about the benefits of marriage.

Then off came the gown and, with Stark playing “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof in the background, on came Gross’s bathrobe-clad character Jessie Cohen, a nasal-voiced, pregnant friend trying to set her up with a guy. Following a segment on the silliness of speed-dating, which only partially landed, Karen brought out another “Matchmaker” character, her grandmother, Lois Ginsberg. While this was a pretty funny bit, it made me wonder: At what point on the generational timeline is the cliché of the older Jewish woman as a nagging, kvetching, busybody like Yente in Fiddler or the Sylvia Miles character in Crossing Delancey going to end? Just asking.

Karen then launched into the 12-song medley she called the “Soundtrack of My Heart,” and offered a strange, but hilarious, juxtaposition of song snippets, including “The Rose,” “Like a Virgin,” “Harden My Heart,” “Kiss on My List,” and “Toxic.” She got through all the songs without missing a beat or a note and the audience of mainly friends and family ate it up. After her homage to finally meeting a great guy (“Till There Was You”), Karen brought up friends Jackie Kristel and Deb Stein for a nice girl group medley on “Chapel of Love,” “Be My Baby,” and “Wishin’ and Hopin’.”

Ironically, the highlight of the show was when Karen took to the piano to perform her own composition, the folk ballad “Would Your Kiss Be Like Coming Home?,” accompanied wonderfully on guitar by her boyfriend, Dan Creskoff. In addition to being a solid song, it was a clever climax to the show: Karen’s announcement that she has triumphed in the dating wars. Whether she will eventually triumph as a New York cabaret star remains to be seen. She certainly has the potential, but needs to decide if she’s more a singer, a songwriter or a comedienne. It’s great to have some talent for all three, but now that the “Single Singer” is out of her system, perhaps her true cabaret persona will ultimately emerge.

Stephen Hanks
Cabaret Scenes
June 11, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org