“You’re just sensational…Maye!”  The amazing thing about seeing Marilyn Maye over the years is that she remains so entertaining, so jazzy, so theatrical, so damn good. Her latest show, The Best of Times Is Now!, salutes Jerry Herman on his 80^th birthday and she seems to be having as much fun performing Herman’s contagious tunes as the audience has watching her. Her shows are master classes on how to play with audiences, stir them up and touch their hearts. Everyone in the room is her personal guest, and, like Dolly Levi, she is glad “to be back home” where she belongs.

Three years older than Herman, Maye belts the spirited “Mame” and “Open a New Window” and brings her sly sass to “You I Like” and “So Long, Dearie.”  She has fun with the satirical lyrics and quirky rhythms of “Elegance.” “Before the Parade Passes By” could be an anthem for this performer herself, who does not seem to let anything pass her by, keeping a busy work schedule around the country.

Occasionally overlooked, however, is Marilyn Maye’s keen perception of the core of her ballads.  She has a cheerful optimistic nature. Her shows define the concept of entertainment, yet, when a song calls for despair, she can pull back and draw out a compellingly intimate rendition.  In this show, with understanding and passion, she renders the heartbreaking ballad from Mame, “If He Walked Into My Life” with its grieving theme of “what if...”  Nostalgia envelops a husky gentleness in “Ribbons Down My Back” and, with Herman’s permission, she changed the gender of Mack & Mabel’s original song to “HeHe Won’t Send Roses,” upping the emotion as she evokes a dame’s warning herself about loving a guy who won’t play the suitor game. Herman’s blessing was a generous bowl of gorgeous white roses sent to Maye on opening night.  In addition, while Maye can mine the emotion of the story, she can also manage the level of passion, as in “I Don’t Want to Know,” a song that can whirl out of control in less able hands.

With Musical Director and pianist Tedd Firth, Tom Hubbard on bass and Jim Eklof on drums, this show has color, gusto and warmth.

Marilyn continues at Feinstein’s through Nov. 12, with Billy Stritch as musical diretor.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
November 2, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org