Tonia Tecce

October 4, 2013

“A Cockeyed Optimist: Why We Believe the Songs of Richard Rodgers”

Metropolitan Room  –  September 15, 26

Tonia TecceTonia Tecce, whose background includes performances with symphony and “pops” orchestras, makes her New York cabaret debut with her show at the Metropolitan Room. Her voice has a “legit” sound, which may be one reason why—in a program dedicated to the music of Richard Rodgers—she sings far more songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II than selections co-written by Rodgers’s other major collaborator, Lorenz Hart. Hammerstein, who early in his career worked with composers Rudolf Friml and Sigmund Romberg, could bring out the operetta-ish side of Rodgers. Tecce clearly gravitates toward that sound.

In fact, her whole sensibility seems suited to the Hammerstein worldview. In her between-songs patter, Tecce makes it clear that faith, family, and romantic love are among the things that matter most to her—and such themes were, of course, Hammerstein’s stock in trade. She says at one point that singing is, for her, an expression of divinity. What could be more Hammersteinian than that? (Consider his “lark that is learning to pray” from The Sound of Music, for instance.)

Tecce mirthfully lets the audience know upfront just how many decades she and her husband have been married and how many children and grandchildren they have. She wears her age almost as a badge of honor. Her voice has a seasoned quality—some might say a weathered one. But while there’s frequently a dry and and reedy effect when she sings at an ordinary volume, she occasionally pushes through with a power note, delivering a clear, assured sound.

What impresses me most about Tecce’s singing is her full commitment to the emotional content of songs. In a medley of “When I Marry Mister Snow” and “When the Children Are Asleep” from Carousel, her voice surfs to a crescendo on a swelling wave of optimism. Similarly, at the end of “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific, her repeated mantra “I’m in love…” suggests a growing sense of discovery. Each repetition of the phrase takes her to a deeper sense of wonder about her besotted condition. Tecce handles songs of joy wonderfully.

Everyone needs to lay off the sugar now and then, though. and I enjoyed Tecce’s detours from the heartland into Hart-land on such songs as “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (Pal Joey) and “My Romance” (Jumbo); I would have appreciated more of his wry sentiment throughout the program. One problem Tecce has is a tendency to push too hard with a song’s comic elements, something that is especially evident on “To Keep My Love Alive” from Rodgers and Hart’s A Connecticut Yankee. The character’s humorous homicidal confessions work better if they’re uttered in understated fashion. There’s no reason to elbow the audience in the ribs while delivering the punch lines.

Musical director and pianist Tom Lawton provides excellent support for Tecce. His playing also helps keep the singer’s enthusiasm from lapsing into effusiveness. For instance, on “Hello, Young Lovers” from The King and I, his surprisingly sprightly accompaniment lets Tecce’s emphasis be on giving the young lovers practical advice rather than on rhapsodizing about her own romantic past. I wish Lawton and the show’s director, Michael Bush, could have helped her find a better conclusion for the show, which now consists of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Carousel) followed by “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”(The Sound of Music). For me, anyway, this makes for an overdose of anthemic uplift. Fortunately, Tecce balances things out by segueing to Rodgers and Hart’s easygoing “Where or When” (Babes in Arms) for her encore.

The most memorable point of the show comes with a brilliant twist Tecce gives to the song “I Have Dreamed” from The King and I (Hammerstein). She prefaces the song by dedicating it to her children and grandchildren. Putting a song that’s known for its romantic sentiments into this completely different context—that of a woman who has long pondered what her relationship with future generations of her family will be—proves revelatory.

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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.