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Teresa Fischer
May 23, 2010
“Miss Congeniality”
Don’t Tell Mama – May 5, 9
Several bars into Teresa Fischer’s opening number, I knew I was in good hands. The song was the often-done Bob Dorough and Dave Frishberg’s “I’m Hip,” and though it’s an appealing novelty number, I find the 45-years-old lyrics a bit dated and the song just not quite strong enough to sustain yet another hearing. Or so I thought. However, throughout the number, Fischer assumed such a look of unbridled cheerfulness and delight at being with-it, that her interpretation was like no other I’d seen, and she won me over completely—and she kept me won-over for the remainder of her show.
She breathed life and zing into another familiar song, “You’ve Got Possibilities” (Strouse & Adams), giving a performance that was highly charged but never excessively so. And talk about making a familiar song fresh, her rendition of the century-old “Row, Row, Row” (William Jerome, James V. Monaco) was a revelation. The singular arrangement was by Andrew Sotomayer, who was responsible for slightly fewer than half of the arrangements; the rest were supplied by the show’s accomplished musical director, Paul Chamlin, who accompanied at the piano.
Many of the selections were less familiar by varying degrees. She was equally artful with the country flavor of Jim Wann’s “The Best Man,” the risqué frankness of “You Got to Know How” by Sippie Wallace, the charm and sweetness of “Crayola Doesn’t Make a Color for Your Eyes” (Kristin Andreassen), and the Caribbean rhythms of Zoë Lewis’s “Never Too Old,” which has a wonderful life-affirming and embracing attitude—as does Fischer, herself.
Among the laugh-out-loud-funny numbers were “What Can You Get a Nudist for Her Birthday?” (A. Leclerq, additional lyrics by Andrew Sotomayor) and “Schadenfreude” (Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx), which she performed as a duet with guest Frank Calo.
Only a couple of the numbers had emotional weight: Lopez and Marx’s “There’s a Fine, Fine Line” and “The Answer” (Wallace Kurth, Christian Taylor). Fischer performed them persuasively, but they came quite late in the program. Which takes me to my only significant reservation: A serious number was needed earlier on to ground the show—and to serve the same purpose as does comic relief in a dramatic presentation. “Poor You” (Burton Lane, E.Y. Harburg) could have been that number, but to accomplish the objective the tempo would have needed to be slower and the key lowered—both of which steps I would suggest taking in any event.
Fischer was completely comfortable on stage and a pleasure to spend time with. Throughout her show she projected intelligence and sparkle—qualities that would be desirable in any human being, but in a cabaret performer they are especially great assets. She has done several solo shows before this one, but this is the first I’ve seen. I daresay it won’t be the last.
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.
