Review: I'M STILL SINGING WITH LINDSEY BRETT CAROTHERS at STARRING BUFFALO

How to survive during a pandemic? Well that not only depends on your personal health, but your chosen occupation. Many a starving artist had trouble making ends meet pre-Covid, but post-Covid? Can we talk? Well, that's just what actress Lindsey Brett Carothers is doing in her one woman cabaret "I'm Still Singing." The on demand program is being co presented by STARRING BUFFALO and MUSICALFARE.

Carothers' affable personality and strong belting voice fit right into the mold one thinks of when casting Glinda in WICKED- a role she understudied in the 2nd National Tour. Her one woman show is built around her struggle of being an out of work actress as the Great White Way is now a ghost town. She moves back to her hometown in Pennsylvania, lives with her parents, tries the on-line dating apps, and finds success in teaching musical theatre students.

Carothers finds a nice mix of musical selections to fit the bill of her life's escapades. Beginning with the Peggy Lee standard "Is That All There Is," she sets the tone as a woman who constantly wants more. Sondheim's "Another Hundred People" from COMPANY allows Carothers to reminisce about a bustling New York before 2020. Ms. Carothers employs a strong voice, full of emotion, but intonation issues plagued the singer throughout much of the first half of the program. Her comic chops came through best, as she gave snippets of impressions from Shakira to Bernadette Peters. But she shone most in a hysterical rendition of "It's All Coming Back to Me" that captured every one of Celine Dion's vocal and physical mannerisms.

The second part of her program was a very entertaining summation of the entire first act of WICKED, with Carothers playing both Elphaba and Glinda. From sky high soprano to rock bottom low notes, she kept the audience on their toes. Changing gears she later sang Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" with ease. The program finished with FUNNY GIRL'S "Don't Rain on My Parade." From it's intense beginnings to it's powerhouse final notes, Carother's inhabited the role of a not to be reckoned with woman on a quest.

STARRING BUFFALO's mission to incorporate talent from NYC with local Buffalo talent and rising high school students continues with this on-line concert. Raphael A. Santos sang a short song set at the outset of the program with a smooth voice that glided through the upper registers in "Where Did We Go Wrong." His sultry voice was captivating in the beguine-like "What Is It About Her." And Academy of Theatre Arts senior Rosan Sharma gave an impressive rendering of Stevie Wonder's "Love Is In Need of Love Today." Sharma has a good raw talent to build upon as he continues his musical theatre education.

Alison d'Amato provided piano accompaniment for the evening. She showed a fine sense of musicianship, blending effortlessly with the vocalists, while finding many musical colors with her sensitive playing.

Contact STARRINGBUFFALO.ORG or MUSICALFARE.COM for more information

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