Review: Eva Noblezada is a Seasoned Pro in WITH LOVE at The Green Room 42

During Eva Noblezada's introduction to the stage of The Green Room 42 last night, the audience was informed of this eye-popping fact: Eva Noblezada's show has been heralded as the most successful run of any cabaret show since Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, and has sold out more than twenty times at The Green Room 42. On one hand, that isn't shocking to hear at all - at twenty-three, Eva Noblezada is already a two-time Tony Award nominee, for 'Miss Saigon' and 'Hadestown', and a Grammy Award winner for Best Musical Theater Album for 'Hadestown'. And on the other hand, twenty-three is still only twenty-three - just based on lack of time as a professional performer alone, how could her cabaret show have hit such heights already? Well, by the end of the night, that fact wasn't so eye-popping after all. After witnessing Noblezada charm, disarm and sing her heart out with a ridiculous amount of vocal finesse for over an hour, connecting with the audience both through laughter and by emotionally stripping down, the incredible success of her cabaret show is every bit earned and completely justified.

Throughout the show, entitled 'With Love', Noblezada - effortlessly accompanied on piano by Rodney Bush - made it clear that the point of the night was for the audience to take away what they needed from each song, to use the music as a means of catharsis. But in no way was it a one-sided conversation. The way Noblezada connects with an audience is like an old-school pro, like a Judy Garland, but with Millennial/Gen Z sensibilities. She is funny and affable. She isn't afraid to curse, to poke fun and call herself out, or to take a shot of tequila on stage. Midway through the show she ventured into the audience to play a trivia drinking game and had a witty response in her back pocket for every person she spoke to. And Noblezada isn't afraid to get real. She touched on the topics of anxiety, eating disorders, lack of representation, the darker side of the entertainment business, and how all these things have personally affected her. She isn't scared to call out injustice and address it right to its face.

The set list included The Isley Brothers' '(At Your Best) You Are Love', Amy Winehouse's 'Tears Dry On Their Own', Sia's 'Elastic Heart', Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own', Judy Garland's 'The Man That Got Away' and Edith Piaf's 'La Vie en rose'. It almost goes without saying that she sounded fantastic. The real appeal with Noblezada is her emotional rawness, her ability and willingness to uninhibitedly express herself through song, going so far as to literally remove her makeup during a number and stand bare faced on stage for the remainder of the show.

Eva Noblezada's 'With Love' was exactly what you want a cabaret show to be. She is the type of performer who makes it impossible not to find some way to connect with her. If her show has already sold out at The Green Room 42 more than twenty times, she should be prepared to sell it out twenty times more.

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