Review: Dianna Agron Takes Café Carlyle Audience Back To An Elegant, Sophisticated Era

The experience of going to the Café Carlyle is one to be savored. Rolling through the revolving door on Madison Avenue and stepping onto the marble floor of the hotel's hallowed halls is like taking a Tardis into the past, to a time when people dressed for dinner, when flowers arrived in boxes, and a daily cocktail hour was mandatory to the day's proceedings. Officials stand by with greetings, smiles, and directions into the precise corner of the establishment that will, best, meet the clientele's needs. Once inside the door of the Café itself, a person can feel the day dissolve, as everything left outside becomes superfluous to the moment at hand - the enjoyment of an exquisite journey into the past and an authentic New York adventure. With the soft glow of warm light cast upon the Marcel Vertès murals and the glint of every piece of glass and silver shining up from the tables, one might, well, be in some sophisticated drawing-room comedy starring Myrna Loy or Ann Sheridan. Every attendant inside of the restaurant at the ready, and Café captain, Mabrouk, providing service both impeccable and elegant, any patron of the establishment can count on a night to remember - indeed, an informal poll later in the evening would reveal that the guests of the restaurant (some of them much younger than one might imagine - a heartwarming sight suggestive of historical continuity) ranged from hometown folk to West Coasters, from Dallas-ites to Ukrainians. The appeal of the Café Carlyle remains as strong as ever, during these first months of post-lockdown re-emergence.

And right in the center of the room stands stately, stylish Dianna Agron.

On March 29th, Ms. Agron played the opening night of her two-week residency at the fabled cabaret room where, once, played the likes of Barbara Cook, Elaine Stritch, and Bobby Short. To play the Carlyle is a badge of honor and the fact that the nightclub has invited the singing actress to their tiny stage for this third outing is compliment indeed. The reference to the size of the stage is no insult, by the way: Part of the thrill of last night's performance was observing the artful manner in which Agron's five-piece band fit on (and got to!) the stage. There was a warm feeling of coziness for the comrades, as well as the audience, who reveled in the genuine feeling that they were, in fact, in Dianna Agron's home. Feeling free enough to wander the room, to socialize with the people in the seats out front, to get 'round the club for a thrilling duet of "That Old Black Magic" with drummer Itay Morchi, one of Ms. Agron's strongest assets is her connection to the audience. For the entirety of her ninety-minute program, Dianna was comfortably aware of everyone in the room, stopping to chat, insisting that people rearrange their chairs to their comfort, even offering that those feeling the need or inspiration to do so should talk to her from their table, and even discussing, demurely, the cute couple in the corner, engaged in the act of romantically exchanging kisses. It was an incredibly welcoming atmosphere made even more so by one simple fact: Dianna Agron is irresistible.

Whether performing her jazz set or simply inspiring laughter with her casually hilarious off-of-the-cuff rhetoric, Ms. Agron is a remarkably appealing artist with whom to spend one's night out. Looking like an Erte painting, and talking with a slight Mid-Atlantic accent worthy of Barbara Stanwyck, Dianna shares stories about her youth as a hotel baby, her early days in Hollywood, and her respect of the history associated with the Carlyle and the artists who played the room, many of whose work she features in her setlist. Singing songs made famous by Blossom Dearie, Eartha Kitt, and Bobby Short, Dianna uses her whisky tenor and relaxed stylings to bring an atmosphere of levity and love to the space. Observe the three opening numbers "Love For Sale," "Let There Be Love," and "I Love to Love" as an indicator of the direction in which the program is leaning - but the direction is not just the subject of love. Agron is intent on providing the sleek and silky sounds one associates with jazz music, and she could not have done better when selecting the members of the band to assist in her quest. One would be hard-pressed to find a tighter combo, and Agron's admiration of their work is plainly visible during each musician's solos. Content to yield her time at the microphone in order to showcase violinist Margot and bassist Endea Owens, Ms. Agron either gazes admiringly in their direction or simply closes her eyes in a music-informed reverie. There is an openly playful relationship between Agron and trombone player Jeffrey Owens, and the incomparable pianist/Musical Director Eden Ladin has the storyteller's back at every turn. They are there to support her, and she is proud to put them in the light, and it's a major component in the enjoyment of the evening (one Agron insists be fun) because they are having fun together.

Throughout the program, Dianna Agron displays a natural instinct for the jazz music that she has arrived to present. Using her famously husky voice and playful treatments to purr, float, and emote her way through classic compositions like "Our Day Will Come" and "I Won't Dance," out of nowhere, Ms. Agron pops surprising power into the program (and an equally surprising higher register) on numbers like "Some Like It Hot" and a quiet little composition that segues out of the Cy Coleman classic "You Fascinate Me So" - to detail the transition would be a spoiler for future audiences but, suffice it to say, it is one of the highlights of the evening, both musically and comedically.

From that first stroll through the audience up to the stage to her final wave goodbye, Dianna Agron's club act is a sultry, sometimes shy, always sophisticated romp - light, bright, irreverent of humor and reverent of occasion, and thoroughly in keeping with the aesthetic of The Café Carlyle. It is easy to understand why the Wednesday night audience was heard to cry out "Encore!" and "More!" at the concert's end because The Café Carlyle is Dianna Agron's hotel home-away-from-home, and during those ninety minutes of welcoming the Carlyle crowd into her musical exploration, it was their home, too: cozy, elegant, and reminiscent of a time every New Yorker (and visitor to New York) dreams of re-capturing, even if only for one chic night.

Dianna Agron will play the Café Carlyle through April 8th. For information and reservations visit the Café Carlyle website HERE.

HERE is Dianna Agron's Instagram page.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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