If Cole Porter had attended Emily Bergl’s Café Carlyle debut, NY I Love You, he might have quoted his own lyrics: “Is it the good turtle soup, or merely the mock?... Should I say ‘thumbs down’ and give it a shove – or is it at long last love?”

Difficult decision. Pert and perky, adorable and audacious, Irish in heritage with a mug to match, Bergl is an actress raised in scripted film, television and theater roles rather than in the personal give-and-take of cabaret. Taking the Carlyle stage smartly suited in top hat, tails, black briefs and fishnet stockings, she opened, appropriately for her theme, with Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan.” Promising! It was her second song that raised the first doubt: “It Had to Be You,” delivered as if in exasperation (“It Had to Be YOU?”). Song upon song followed, none identified for the audience, few related to New York—such numbers as: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” delivered in mock-tough style; “Folsom Prison Blues,” a Johnny Cash staple that didn’t carry as a woman’s number; Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” with which she sauntered briefly into the audience before scampering back on stage; and Dietrich’s trademark “The Boys in the Back Room,” by which time Bergl’s costume had morphed into an un-Marlene peasant skirt and blouse.

There’s a “however,” however. Bergl’s lightweight voice and sunny spirit felt lovely and appropriate on such numbers as “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” the Irish traditional song “Bunclody,” and her simple finale, “We’ll Meet Again.”

While Noël Coward’s song “Some Day I’ll Find You” was not in Bergl’s program, it seems a suitable theme for her as she shapes her talents for the cabaret stage.

Fine backup was provided by Musical Director and pianist Jonathan Mastro, Leroy Bach on guitar and Dave Phillips on bass. Applause, too, for the ever-gracious hospitality and fine food of the Café Carlyle itself. 

Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
May 2, 2012
www.cabaretscenes.org