Review: With Class and Clarity, Christine Andreas Brings the Music and Madness of CAFE SOCIETY to Feinstein's/54 Below

In her new show, Café Society at Feinstein's/54 Below, Christine Andreas doesn't so much sing "Puttin' On the Ritz" (Irving Berlin) as personify it, channeling the attitude and era in which it was conceived. With just a tad of hip action, tipping shoulders, and an elongated ssss, the artist shares a really good time. "So, where are we going after the show . . . to Harlem's Savoy or The Copa? (The Copacabana) . . . " This evening is about the late 1920s to the early '60s "an ongoing party of glamour and excess . . . when everybody was listening to the same music."

Interjecting well-researched history (the performer credit's James Gavin's splendid book Cabaret Nights) with tales from her theatrical mentors, Andreas peppers patter with entertaining facts and anecdotes referring to such as the Astors, the Vanderbilts, then 96-year-old George Abbott, Dina Merrill, and Kitty Carlisle Hart--a tough taskmaster who taught the young artist, among other things, to walk properly in high heels.

"Sentimental Mood" (Duke Ellington/Manny Kurtz) arrives swathed in satin. Andreas can mute part of a lyric as if a horn employing a high hat. She never breaks a phrase/thought, managing to flow from full out to restrained to smoky in a single hidden breath. Kenny Odze's brushes circle, Dick Sarpola's bass is eeezeee, Kenny Ascher's piano briefly sounds classical.

When cabs were $.76 and a dinner show at The Copa cost $3.00, "if you really wanted to make an impression on your girl, you took her to see a Broadway show." Andreas offers three numbers from Rodgers & Hart's On Your Toes. The actress starred in a George Abbot helmed revival with "no body microphones and a full orchestra in the pit." She sighs wistfully. Of these, a lyrical torch rendition of "Glad To Be Unhappy" deeply resonates.

From atop the piano, her version of Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" is sheer seduction. It's a miracle Sarpola maintains focus while Andreas coos inches from him, unfolding across the shiny black surface to peek at his music, teasing. 'Cause my daddy--she sings, then bites the blingy bracelet at her wrist--treats me so well. At the very end, the musician's eyebrow rises and he puckers. Charming and cool.

"The war was coming . . . We had a flood of Europeans to the states adding a continental touch to café society . . . Vincent Astor donated his yacht to the navy, Mrs. Vanderbilt downsized to 28 rooms . . . " Vocal performance of "My Ship" (Kurt Weill/Ira Gershwin) evokes cinematic, slow-motion wind in a ship's sails as the piano suggests waves. Overcome with longing, Andreas is purposefully, painfully restrained until she can't bear it anymore. Closing one's eyes, it's as if her voice physically touches.

Two glorious signature numbers in French and English are ardent, gladiatorial. Andreas was probably French in another life. She seems to live these. Back of throat vibrato gets a work out. My companion cries. The club goes wild.

A lengthy George Gershwin medley ("He would play at the drop of a piano") runs the gamut, with examples of almost every kind of music he tackled. "Embraceable You" loops its title like a musical lariat, "Fascinating Rhythm" happily can't contain stillness, "I've Got a Crush On You" purrs from the lap of a red-faced Scott Siegel (impresario/producer) in the audience, and "Strike Up the Band" shoots off almost visible sparks.

Heart-skipping World War II songs "A Nightingale Sings in Berkley Square" (Manning Sherwin/Eric Maschwitz) and "I'll Be Seeing You" (Sammy Fain/Irving Kahal) conjure last nights before parting. The air shimmers.

" . . . Television was invented. people stopped going out, nightlife died, tastes changed . . . Still, I'm thinking I'm standing up here and you're sitting out there and we still think it's a good idea . . . " Amen!

Christine Andreas bring clarity, class, high standards, and heart to any venue. That glorious voice amazingly shows no sign of wear. Café Society is a worthy illumination of the fertile age during which our American Songbook burst with contributions. Too much of a good thing, however, the show would be more successful edited by 15 minutes.

Arrangements by Kenny Ascher (Musical Director), Marty Silvestri and Lee Musiker serve both material and performer with imagination.

Christine Andreas performs Café Society again at Feinstein's/54 Below on May 5 at 7 pm. For reservations, go to http://54below.com/artist/christine-andreas/

Note: On Tuesday March 8, at The Bistro Awards, Christine Andreas will receive a well-deserved recognition for: Ongoing Artistry in Cabaret and Concert Performance

Photos by Maryann Lopinto

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