Barbara Brussell is back! Between marriage and a cross-country move, Brussell has been absent from the cabaret scene far too long. She came back, though, as if she had never been away, in a tightly focused show centered around her fourth anniversary. A slight case of laryngitis (reportedly gone for the next’s night show) didn’t stop her from delivering a performance that got to the heart of her material. She is a master of assembling a unique collection of songs that she molds into a very personal statement. In this case it reflected her happy state of mind on her anniversary, despite some challenges along the way.

Much of the show was a touching tribute to her husband in songs that ranged from “Cooking Breakfast for the One I Love” from the 1930s to Sondheim’s “In Buddy’s Eyes.” Pass the Kleenex when she sings Amanda McBroom’s “Putting Things Away.” To borrow a phrase from Carole Bayer Sager, “nobody does it better.” At the end of the song, when the word “dreams” replaces “things,” Brussell’s haunting delivery of that word is magical.

Tech person Shana Golden bathed Brussell in a glowing light and Musical Director David Kole, along with Hamilton Price on bass, supplied just the right atmospheric musical accompaniment.

Les Traub
Cabaret Scenes
June 1, 2012
www.cabaretscenes.org