Julie Garnyé has friends with good taste in music who know what a terrific singer she is. Because, when she asked several to suggest one song for her to sing to open Hollywood’s newest cabaret venue, they came up with an eclectic mix of mostly showstoppers that displayed Garnyé’s wide range and powerful vocal abilities in a very convincing way.

This woman can sing anything superbly, from a sweet, childlike take on “Rainbow Connection” (Paul Williams/Kenny Ascher, from The Muppet Movie) to a spell-binding “Meadowlark” (Stephen Schwartz, from The Baker’s Wife) to an exquisite, heart-breaking “The Music That Makes Me Dance” (Jule Styne/Bob Merrill, from Funny Girl) to a piece of nonsense like “Ghostbusters” (Ray Parker, Jr., from the movie of the same name).

The highlight of her set, as it is likely to be for years to come, was “Kindergarten Boyfriend” (Laurence O’Keefe/Kevin Murphy, from the Broadway-bound musical version of Heathers). It’s a sweet, poignant song written specifically for Garnye, who will be in the show.  The song — sung in Heathers by a morbidly obese 16-year-old girl on the verge of suicide — describes the character’s friendship with a boy, when both were five, that can no longer exist for their teenage selves (“Now we’re all grown up and we know better …./Certain boys are just for kindergarten/Certain girls are meant to be alone”).  The lyrics are evocative and touching, and the images they describe are stunning in their power, and Garnye does full justice to the song in a deliberate, unflinching performance.

Joining Garnye on stage for one song was James Snyder, performing a gorgeous “A Little Fall of Rain” (Alain Boublil/Claude-Michel Schönberg, from Les Misérables) — his rich, powerful voice blending perfectly with her own beautiful instrument.  Adding excellent piano accompaniment throughout the evening was Brent Crayon, who sounded great, despite having received most of the music only days earlier, and some of it only hours earlier, Garnyé said from the stage.

In fact, though there was little evidence she may have been under-rehearsed, Garnye apologized for keeping the lyrics for most of the songs on a music stand in front of her because, she said, she had been so involved with getting the room open that she collected the songs only days before and hadn’t had time to learn all of them.

The room is inside Twist Restaurant at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel & Spa in the heart of Hollywood, and Garnye’s show christened the space.  The reason for her involvement in getting the room open is that she, along with Amber Cassell, are partners in the production company The Coterie, which will produce the shows at Twist.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
October 5, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org