Hats off to Jamie deRoy for treating us to two shows dedicated to new songs and songwriters. Over two nights, the songs of more than fifteen composers and lyricists were given impressive performances by a variety of very talented singers.

There weren’t any bad songs over the two nights, and here are some of the many highlights: Amanda Yesnowitz and Deborah Abramson’s “Other People’s Art”—in which the driving rhythm perfectly complemented the turmoil of character—sung passionately by Andrew Samonsky; Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich’s wittily worded “Women Want What”; Barry Kleinbort’s “Phfft!,” an hilarious account of linguistic challenges en France; a dreamy and lyrical “Wish on the Moon” (lyrics: deRoy & Kleinbort; music: Shelly Markham) breathtakingly delivered by Christiane Noll; one of the most creative songs of the two nights, David Buskin’s “All in All”; Jeff Blumenkrantz’s highly comic “Crowd Control,” all too apt in today’s cell phone culture, as well as his equally comic “Drink My Way” beginning with a take-off of “Makin’ Whoopee”; Rick Jensen’s moving and beautifully sentimental “Go Ahead and Dream”; and the wittiest song of the night, Christine Lavin’s “The Drunk Puppy Song.”

Peppered throughout both evenings were terrific parody songs (lyrics Barry Kleinbort): “Sixty Going on Seventy”; “Gentiles on My Mind”; and “Duane Reade” (to the tune of “Downtown”).
I’m overjoyed to see someone focussing on new songwriters. These evenings are a prime example of how important it is to hear new voices. A stellar outing.

Harold Sanditen
Cabaret Scenes
October 4 & 5, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org