Cabaret Scenes CD Review

Broadway’s Susan Egan’s newest CD, The Secret of Happiness, might easily have been called Journeys, as she revels in insightful stories and choices that took her from Broadway to babies and beyond. It is also about reflection. Almost every song has the gentle echo of a poignant milestone. Like a compelling biography, the album is full of well-chosen musical anecdotes from the catalogs of veterans like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sondheim and Paul Simon. More contemporary entries come from Jason Robert Brown, Christine Lavin, Paul Gordon, Brian Haner, Georgia Stitt and Egan herself. Anyone familiar with Ms. Egan’s past albums (this is her sixth), will easily spot that this is her most personal recording to date. A variety of homespun musical conversations range from high-voltage belting to sensitive, gut-wrenching emotionalism. One of the album’s highlights, an engaging ditty called “Nina Doesn’t Care” penned by Haner and Egan, notes how totally unimpressed her little daughter is with any of her mother’s lofty professional credentials (“Nina doesn’t care if I was once a star/She’s never seen my name up on the marquee/Nina only giggles.”) Her daughter Nina is just a little girl dealing with an impossibly loving person who just happens to be her mom. The song speaks volumes about what it is like to be a mother—as does “From the Stars” (Isla’s Song) (Haner/Stitt/Egan), which is a loving homage to her other daughter—especially a mother who has starred on Broadway. This was reiterated in a recent concert outing titled Susan Egan: The Real Housewife of Broadway.

Egan’s rich voice and perfect phrasing embrace the tunes with sensitivity and a healthy dose of humor, as on Lavin’s riotous ” A Musical Apology” and the hysterical “Momsense” (Gioachino Rossini/Anita Renfroe), a patter-like kinetic reinvention of the music to Rossini’s William Tell Overture about the maddening annoyances of kids’ behavior. A trenchant “Children Will Listen” in a duet with Ms. Stitt, is delicate and memorable, as is this CD which is sure to find new fans for the lady who’s been hailed as having the perfect Broadway voice.

Oddly, a complex arrangement of the iconic anthem “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is not quite as effective as other cuts. In spite of its artistic merits and Egan’s dramatic emoting, reinventing such a familiar, haunting melody may not have been a wise choice on such a potent song. Some classics are best left to stand on their own. However, one thing is certain: Susan Egan is a real class act, as is this album. Hopefully, if family obligations allow, she will visit the East coast to celebrate this latest musical achievement.

John Hoglund
Cabaret Scenes
December 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org



	Susan Egan The Secret of Happiness LML Music
Broadway’s Susan Egan’s newest CD, The Secret of Happiness, might easily have been called Journeys, as she revels in insightful stories and choices that took her from Broadway to babies and beyond. It is also about reflection. Almost every song has the gentle echo of a poignant milestone. Like a compelling biography, the album is full of well-chosen musical anecdotes from the catalogs of veterans like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sondheim and Paul Simon. More contemporary entries come from Jason Robert Brown, Christine Lavin, Paul Gordon, Brian Haner, Georgia Stitt and Egan herself. Anyone familiar with Ms. Egan’s past albums (this is her sixth), will easily spot that this is her most personal recording to date. A variety of homespun musical conversations range from high-voltage belting to sensitive, gut-wrenching emotionalism. One of the album’s highlights, an engaging ditty called “Nina Doesn’t Care” penned by Haner and Egan, notes how totally unimpressed her little daughter is with any of her mother’s lofty professional credentials (“Nina doesn’t care if I was once a star/She’s never seen my name up on the marquee/Nina only giggles.”) Her daughter Nina is just a little girl dealing with an impossibly loving person who just happens to be her mom. The song speaks volumes about what it is like to be a mother—as does “From the Stars” (Isla’s Song) (Haner/Stitt/Egan), which is a loving homage to her other daughter—especially a mother who has starred on Broadway. This was reiterated in a recent concert outing titled Susan Egan: The Real Housewife of Broadway. Egan’s rich voice and perfect phrasing embrace the tunes with sensitivity and a healthy dose of humor, as on Lavin’s riotous ” A Musical Apology” and the hysterical “Momsense” (Gioachino Rossini/Anita Renfroe), a patter-like kinetic reinvention of the music to Rossini’s William Tell Overture about the maddening annoyances of kids’ behavior. A trenchant “Children Will Listen” in a duet with Ms. Stitt, is delicate and memorable, as is this CD which is sure to find new fans for the lady who’s been hailed as having the perfect Broadway voice. Oddly, a complex arrangement of the iconic anthem “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is not quite as effective as other cuts. In spite of its artistic merits and Egan’s dramatic emoting, reinventing such a familiar, haunting melody may not have been a wise choice on such a potent song. Some classics are best left to stand on their own. However, one thing is certain: Susan Egan is a real class act, as is this album. Hopefully, if family obligations allow, she will visit the East coast to celebrate this latest musical achievement. John Hoglund Cabaret Scenes December 2011 www.cabaretscenes.org

Susan Egan

The Secret of Happiness

LML Music