One of the oft-time awk-ward problems of string-ing together a group of disparate songs (even when they are pearls) is the strained segue patter attempting to make the groupings seem meaning- ful, logical, sensible. No problem here, as Stevie Holland presents an all-Cole Porter program—one continuity question automatically solved—with the connections not artificially contrived but consisting of selected dialogue from Ms. Holland’s one-woman show depicting and breezily dramatizing Porter’s wife, the Southern socialite nee Linda Lee Thomas.

The songs need no introduction. All are top drawer Porter (some would argue there are no other kind) and all are expertly interpreted by Stevie, be it her unhurried balladeering on “In the Still of the Night”—wherein one can appreciate the neatly crafted Gary William Friedman arrangements nimbly played by Landon Knoblock (piano), Peter Brendler (bass), Jeff Davis (drums)—or the skillful jazzle-dazzle of “Miss Otis Regrets (She’s Unable to Lunch Today).”

How swell.

Noah Tree
Cabaret Scenes
May 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org