Val Hawk is a singer with an earthy, wry presence—she’s funny, friendly and unpretentious. Shortly before she was officially called to take the stage at her recent Pangea show, Special Material, she was there in front of it: shooting the breeze with audience members—confiding that when she’d purchased the dress she was wearing, she’d assumed it was a blouse. The evening could have been a gathering of friends in her living room.
Val Hawk
Hawk has had a varied career. In addition to her time as a jazz singer, she has a background in theatre. Back in the day, she appeared Off Broadway in David Rabe’s In the Boom Boom Room. On television she was the voice of “Becky Sue” on the animated educational cartoon Schoolhouse Rock, where she became acquainted with vocalist/composer/pianist Bob Dorough (who wrote songs for and directed episodes of that program).
She seemed to have a bit of nervous energy during her opening Pangea number, Cole Porter’s “From This Moment On.” During the instrumental break, she kept moving—sometimes sort of go-go dancing, at other times almost jogging in place. But as she settled in with the set list, she became more relaxed, and her vocals became more assured and refined. The deeper notes in her lower range were especially pleasing.
The “special material” referred to in the title was the repertoire of her mother, Susan Shepard, who was a club singer in the Miami area decades ago. At first, Hawk didn’t talk a whole lot about “Mom,” but eventually she let loose with memories. She described hiding in a closet, surrounding herself with Shepard’s fancy show gowns. The evening’s highlight was an absolutely delightful original song, “Baby Blue Chevrolet,” filled with wonderfully crisp and detailed imagery from those bygone days when she traveled with her mother to and from gigs. The song commemorated the glamorous excitement of the biz of show, as seen through the eyes of an impressionable young girl. The number was both funny and touching.
She gave songs from her mother’s songlist some striking arrangements of her own creation, providing such titles as Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane’s “Love” and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The Gentleman Is a Dope” with unexpected and fascinating syncopations. For her take on Rodgers & Hart’s “Wait Till You See Him,” she included her own vocalese-y contribution, with original words. Afterward, she revealed that she’d written this arrangement for a VIP: the “him” in her rendition of the song was the newborn son of the evening’s pianist, terrific Nicki Adams.
Bassist Yoshi Waki teamed with Adams to provide Hawk’s accompaniment. His solo on “Love” was especially good.
Anyone looking for a fun-filled, relaxed hour of music and good will should be on the lookout for more dates showcasing the amiable and gifted Val Hawk.
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Presented at Pangea, 178 Second Ave., NYC, August 21, 2024.
Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing reviews for BistroAwards.com in 2011. More recently he has contributed "Cabaret Setlist" articles about cabaret repertoire. Other reviews and articles have appeared in theaterscene.net and clydefitchreport.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.
