For a couple dozen fans, Pia Zadora’s return to the stage was a much-anticipated fanfest. Unfortunately, this critic will not be joining in the love anytime soon. Although, I did try. I like Zadora’s attempt at being a big belting powerhouse, and she does follow, weakly, in the lineage of an Eydie Gorme or Marilyn Maye. But while Pia is certainly perky and energetic, she lacks the musicality of those stylists. They possess great phrasing, nuance and dynamism. Pia has volume. Surrounded by an octet of seasoned veterans, her effervescence was mired by tired arrangements. She tried to sell standards like “Maybe This Time,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “The Lady Is a Tramp” with charm and huge finishes, but I wasn’t buying it. There are too many flat notes and little bite to the deliveries. Her rendition of “It’s Over” made me long for Gorme’s show-stopping version. Her “The Man That Got Away” was unforgiveable. A soft Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman ballad, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?,” was muddled with conflicting stylistic tempos. There was a nice attempt at the Garland/Streisand “Happy Days Are Here Again”/Get Happy” duet with her daughter Kady, who is similarly a big belter. “All of Me” and “C’est Si Bon” had a forced joie de vivre and by the third encore of “The Party’s Over,” I was glad it was.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
June 8, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org