When thinking about great songwriters, it is easier to list the works of teams that stayed paired the longest—Rodgers and Hammerstein, the Gershwins, etc. So, although the works of Burton Lane rank among the giants of Broadway (as well as his copious contributions to motion pictures), his pairing with numerous lyricists makes chronicling his accomplishments a bit cumbersome.

Richard Holbrook took care of that with his educational, yet diverting, show of Lane's work, encompassing several decades. He also supplied well-timed anecdotes and trivia, one of the most impressive being that Lane discovered the young Frances Gumm, soon to be renamed Judy Garland.

Holbrook, a throwback from another era, relied on the music and narrative, his only agenda being to celebrate his chosen composer. That is rare in these days of overly politicized and personalized offerings.

With a deft mixture of medleys and a well-rounded collection of complete songs, he covered pieces including, but not limited to, Lane’s collaborations with Lerner (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever), selected numbers from his biggest hit, Finian's Rainbow (lyrics by “Yip” Harburg) and various hit songs from a sprinkling of other others immortal lyricists including Frank Loesser and Ira Gershwin. Not all of the lyricists were famous, but all were worthy.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful—a happily, not overdone—standards is Lerner and Lane’s “Too Late Now” from the movie Royal Wedding. Not only is the melody original and haunting, the chord progressions add a tension and release that is not at all commonplace, rendering the piece uniquely memorable.

Holbrook's presentation was genuine—sophisticated, yet innocent.  His voice was most pleasing in some of his sustained high, soft singing. It is a delicate matter to offer an artist at this stage of his career technical advice, but, if he chooses to work more with the actual words (in ballads) and less with external emotionalism, he can raise the bar even higher—transcending vocally and further polishing of his already compelling work.

Melody Breyer-Grell
Cabaret Scenes
June 29, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org