Melanie Stace floated to the stage wearing a form-fitting, black, sleeveless gown, looking like an astonishingly beautiful Hollywood sex goddess.  With plenty of theater and television experience behind her, she gave voice to some of the most bewitching singing stars to ever grace the movie screen – Judy Garland, Doris Day, Michelle Pfeiffer, Shirley Bassey and Marilyn Monroe among them.

Stace’s program was broadly diversified, both in terms of the singers and the songs/songwriters associated with them.  From Bassey to Pfeiffer and “Birth of the Blues” (Henderson, DeSylva,Brown) to “The Trolley Song” (Martin), Stace connected with each song and channeled every icon with ease.  It’s virtually impossible to hear songs such as “Someone to Watch Over Me” (George & Ira Gershwin) and “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me” (Berlin), without imagining Garland and Rosemary Clooney.

With the excellent assistance of Musical Director Doug Oberhamer, Greg Chudzik on bass, David Anthony on drums and Tony Romano on guitar, Stace’s sexy, smoky voice caressed the ballads with tender poignancy, as in Clooney’s  “Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me,” one of the great songs in the film White Christmas.  The image of Day was palpable in “Ten Cents a Dance” (Rodgers & Hart), and the strong presence of Bassey was felt in “Never, Never, Never” (Renis, Testa, Newell).

In addition to Stace’s own “Here’s to the Ladies,” the former dancer had great fun with “Streisand Got There First,” about a singer’s frustration over Barbra Streisand’s predisposition to recording the definitive version of every freshly-minted song.   On the off chance that there was anyone in the room who didn’t appreciate what extraordinary chops Melanie Stace possesses, they only had to listen to her powerful rendition of “Birth of the Blues.”  Returning to the bridge twice, she escalated the volume and intensity each time before subsiding into Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” ending on a gentle note for an exceptional evening.

Melanie returns to Feinstein's September 16 & 17.

Jerry Osterberg
Cabaret Scenes
June 4, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org