Nesha Ward

November 5, 2009

“I Am…”

Don’t Tell Mama  –  October 8, 21, November 2

I can’t imagine not falling in love with Nesha Ward. With her soul-cheering smile, her manifest and unflagging enthusiasm for singing and performing, and the positive energy she radiates throughout her show, she is the personification of joy. On top of that, her funny, charming patter communicates a cheery, benevolent view of life. In addition, her voice seems to draw power from someplace deep within her, so it is more than merely big, and she seizes songs and makes them vital statements. I first saw her in last year’s MetroStar Talent Challenge, in which she was second runner-up; now she continues to impress in her debut solo cabaret show, directed by Lennie Watts, with piano accompaniment and musical direction by William T.N. Hall.

She brings such conviction to her opening number, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’s “I Have a Dream,” that when she sings “I believe in angels,” one is quite ready to believe it. Her interpretation of Brenda Russell’s “Get Here” is all eager anticipation; that girl really doesn’t care how he gets there—and boy does she want him there. When doing “The Candy Man” (Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse) she becomes a happy kid, completely guiltless in her craving for sweets. In Kander & Ebb’s “Arthur in the Afternoon” she is equally guiltless, albeit more adult, as she sings about sexual encounters with unashamed relish—yet the joy she projects keeps it all rather innocent.

Ward lets loose on Billy Joel’s “Everybody Has a Dream,” and she throws herself into an ’80s medley and makes it marvelously entertaining. She makes a solid emotional connection with Stephen Schwartz’s “Thank Goodness” and does a fine job on Susan Werner’s “Movie of My Life,” both in the first part, in which she has fun being pleased with herself, and in the more serious second, in which her smugness has the cold water of realistic self-appraisal poured on it.

A few quibbles: Ward’s renditions of “That’s All” (Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes) and  “Don’t Wait Too Long” (Madeleine Peyroux, Jesse Harris, Larry Klein) are pretty good, but they lack the singularity that she usually brings to her performance; and Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning” would benefit from more modest accompaniment. However, these problems pale in the full context of the evening’s many pleasures. Clearly, Ward has impressed other people as well, for she’s been signed to do the National Tour of The Color Purple.

 

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About the Author

Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for over thirty years. He’s written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on “New York Theatre Review” on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. A critic for BistroAwards.com, he is also the site’s Reviews Editor; in addition, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC.