Robyn Spangler cleverly balanced her own story with that of subject Linda Ronstadt in a delightful evening of genre-crossing music. Surveying Ronstadt’s hits in styles including pop, rock, country, operetta and standards gave Robyn the opportunity to showcase her own strong vocal abilities across a wide range of music.

Given Ronstadt’s colorful—to say the least—life story, Robyn had a rich vein of material to work from. She playfully teased the audience with stories that gave the impression they were hers before acknowledging they were indeed Linda’s. She grew up with the music of Ronstadt, so linking milestones in her own life to Ronstadt material served as an effective foundation for her show.

Opening with the Holland-Dozier-Holland song “Heat Wave,” Robyn and Music Director Todd Schroeder, along with Tim Christensen on bass, generated a strong energy that they were able to sustain throughout the evening. Ronstadt’s starring role in the Broadway and movie productions of Pirates of Penzance gave Robyn an opportunity to showcase her own operatic vocal skills in a beautiful rendition of “Poor Wand'rin' One.” The Nelson Riddle period was covered effectively in a medley skillfully arranged by Schroeder.

A studio CD of this music is coming soon, which will also include one of the highlights from this show: Robyn, with Pat Whiteman and Joanne O’Brien, doing their version of the Ronstadt-Dolly Parton-Emmylou Harris take on the Neil Young song, “After the Gold Rush.”

Les Traub
Cabaret Scenes
June 10, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org