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“Stringing Along With Love”
Metropolitan Room – February 14, 21, 28
Pretty and winsome Karen Oberlin, a fixture on the cabaret circuit in recent years, has brought her new act to the Metropolitan Room. “Stringing Along With Love” is an intimate evening of unusual love songs, both old and new, featuring Oberlin’s jazzy vocal stylings backed simply by Sean Harkness on guitar and, at the performance I attended, Matthew D. Morrison on violin. (Each evening features a different violinist.) Although Oberlin’s pleasing voice does not have great power, it does have impressive flexibility and range, which serves the musical choices well. Like an engaging talk show host, she relates anecdotes about several of the songs as she merrily rolls along through the act.
It’s impressive that she’s performing Paul McCartney’s “My Valentine,” a brand new song from his new album, which he sang on the Grammy Awards less than two weeks before Oberlin’s show. However, perhaps because the song is so new, she doesn’t do much more than give a sweet sheen to the reading.
Oddly, Oberlin is most accomplished on songs that appear to be the most complex, both lyrically and musically. She shows commitment and more colors on “No One Knows” (Billy Strayhorn). She’s unearthed an old treasure of a song, “The Kind of Man a Woman Needs” (Michael Leonard, Herbert Martin); people may be familiar with Barbra Streisand’s recording of the piece, yet Oberlin makes it her own and invests it with a yearning intensity. Best of all is her rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Love,” with lyrics that are based on Corinthians but also travel to other Biblical sources, and a melody that swoops to unexpected places. Oberlin manages it with aplomb and earned the biggest applause of the night when she finished it.
Unfortunately, there are some problems with the act, not the least of which is that she is perched on a stool between the two musicians for most of the show, with a music stand in front of her. The evening I attended, she glanced at it perhaps more than she should have and still stumbled over some lyrics. The music stand prop for a singer is possibly acceptable for an octogenarian legend or two, but should probably be avoided by someone of Oberlin’s vitality. The lack of movement gives the show the feel of a recital or jam session at times. She doesn’t actually stand until the fourth song and, while singing, her eyes are often focused several feet over the heads of her audience.
On an emotional level, too many of the songs are delivered with the same earnest effort, but lacking highs and lows. The reason love songs are so compelling is that they ride an edge between, say, lost and found, joy and heartbreak. That duality should be fully explored by the singer. Navigating that fragile line is what moves an audience.
Oberlin tries her hand at comedy but it’s not her strong suit. “Poor You” (Burton Lane, E.Y. Harburg) is cute and musically playful, as she trades musical lines with Harkness and the violinist, and “To Keep My Love Alive” (Rodgers & Hart), the popular standard about a black widow’s offing of her husbands, is amusing. However, she holds too tightly to her polite persona; she should allow herself to go to the dark side once in a while. In fact, when after the song her young son jumped up and down with enthusiasm from his seat in the audience, Oberlin said, “Is it scary to see your mother acting crazy?” The precocious child answered, “Not really!” Ah, from the mouths of babes…
One other habit this reviewer would like to address is the growing tendency for singers to thank “important” people in the audience, which is often every singer in attendance who has a show coming up. Oberlin isn’t the first to do this and she surely won’t be the last. Special guest announcements should be limited to true legends or perhaps a songwriter in attendance, so that he or she can be acknowledged (in Oberlin’s show, Grammy nominee Fred Hersch was one such).
In sum, Oberlin has exquisite taste in music and considerable musicianship herself. More experimentation with her emotional palette and a bit more rehearsal with the material would go a long way toward making her act worthy of a return visit.
Kevin Scott Hall performed in cabaret clubs for many years and recorded three CDs, including “New Light Dawning” in 1998, which received national airplay. He also worked at the legendary piano bar, Rose’s Turn, and has taught cabaret workshops and directed shows since 1995. Kevin earned his MFA in Creative Writing at City College of New York. He is an adjunct professor in the Theatre and English departments at City College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. His novel, “Off the Charts!” was published in 2010, and his memoir, “A Quarter Inch from My Heart” (Wisdom Moon), in 2014. Kevin writes a monthly column and entertainment features for Edge Media Network, writes reviews for BistroAwards.com, and freelances for other publications.
