Susan Siegel

June 21, 2011

“Starts & Stops”

The Duplex  –  June 5, 12, 19

Among the songs that singing actress Susan Siegel included in her Duplex show was Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields’s “It’s Not Where You Start” from Seesaw, which begins with the lyrics “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish/ It’s not how you go, it’s how you land.” Siegel apparently took that sentiment to heart. Her encore number was “Bar Mitzvah Shiksa Mama,” co-written by the show’s director/writer, Erv Raible, and Pamela Tate. Siegel explained that she, an Italian Catholic girl, and her husband adopted two Jewish children, and that she recently found herself planning her son’s bar mitzvah and putting the boy through the paces before his big day. The song is very funny, and Siegel delivered it with aplomb. She stood on the stage, looking and sounding a little like Patti LuPone at a particularly determined Madame Rose moment. She embellished the melody line with rabbinical-style melisma, and hit all the punch lines like a total pro (including the inevitable joke about “blowing the shofar”). It was, indeed, a wonderful finish.

If only Siegel had shown such a powerful presence throughout the rest of the aptly named “Starts & Stops.”

Her voice isn’t the problem. Supported by musical director (and pianist) Tex Arnold, Siegel gave her audience strong, buoyant, almost operatic singing throughout much of the program. Her lower register is full and warm, and she has good control of the upper register too—along with sound connective tissue between the high and the low. This was apparent in songs as dissimilar as Bob Dorough’s bluesy “Small Day Tomorrow” and the arty “You Must Believe in Spring” (Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand). Siegel also showed a flair for comedy on certain numbers, such as Amanda Green’s ode to over-the-top envy, “Every Time a Friend Succeeds,” where she scrunched up her face devilishly on the phrase “shrivel up and die.”

But Siegel seemed terribly tentative—to the point of insecurity—throughout much of the program. Only in that encore did she seem to be fully, absolutely enjoying herself.

Part of the problem was that the program focused on her struggle to put together a cabaret act, something that—as she reminded us throughout the set—was accomplished only after a long series of those enervating “stops & starts.” There was something almost apologetic about the approach, as though Siegel were subliminally telling the audience: “I know I’m late to the party but give me a hand for finally getting here.” All the songs in the show about wanting to succeed, about overcoming inertia and procrastination (“Defying Gravity,” “What About Today?” “You’re Gonna Hear From Me”) didn’t help matters. I felt as though I wanted to shout, “We’re hearing from you now, Susan! You sound fine—have fun up there!”

Siegel suffered, too, from Memorized Script Syndrome—a tendency to repeat every word of her autobiographical narration by rote. This lack of spontaneity created a wall between performer and audience. The one time she seemed to be communicating effectively with her listeners was, again, on the lead-in to the “Shiksa Mama” number. I think she (and I) perked up there because this was anecdotal material truly interesting and memorable. Too much of the rest was nothing particularly special. When she told us, between verses of Portia Nelson’s “Autobiography,” about some of the career missteps she’d experienced in her musical theatre endeavors, it seemed mostly an occasion for ticking off her credits. I wanted stories that—like the bar mitzvah material—gave more insight into her personality, into what has made her perspective unique.

My wish for Siegel is that this first gig will give her a boost of confidence and that next time out she’ll shed her self-consciousness and just relax. She could be the life of the party, a droll, strong-voiced performer—a latter-day Kay Ballard, perhaps. What a loss it would be if her big finish at the Duplex led to no new starts.

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About the Author

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.