Give Pat Whiteman a song to sing, and she’s liable to sing it better than anyone else you can think of.   She is a singer’s singer, and her completely relaxed manner on stage makes it all look so effortless that you’re constantly caught by surprise at how versatile she is in this show of mostly contemporary songs. Whether it’s a sweet ballad like “And I Was Beautiful (Jerry Herman, from Dear World), a belting blues number like “Consolation Prize” (Michelle Brourman) or a comedy song like “Who Wears These Clothes?” (Joe Keenan/Brad Ross), Whiteman is on point in everything she sings.

An extremely gifted singer with a very wide range — check out that near-operatic high note at the end of “Kind of Woman” (Stephen Schwartz, from Pippin)! — she has the ability to hold an audience in thrall as she sings and talks about life and love and the complications each creates for the other.

With effective support from Michelle Brourman at the piano and under the creative direction of Jason Graae, Whiteman is a pure pleasure to see and hear.  And 15 months after debuting this show in Los Angeles — followed by performances in Palm Springs and New York — Whiteman has a strong handle on the proceedings that never wavers.

There is sheer magic in the winsome “Little Girls’ Dreams” (Karen Gottlieb/Brourman) and the poignant  “Another Mister Right Left” (David Zippel/Jonathan Shefffer), and her closer, which combines “Hold Out for the Real Thing” (Gottlieb/Brourman) with “Get Here” (Brenda Russell) finishes things off in grand style. And the doubled-edged encore was also brilliant:  first, the very amusing “Teeny Tiny,” followed by the sweet familiarity and aptness of “The Nearness of You” (Hoagy Carmichael/Ned Washington).

The only drawback, if one wants to pick nits, was her failure to identify composers and lyricists, other than noting two of the songs Brourman had written.  Otherwise, it was a perfect show!

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
October 16, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org