Review: EDEN ESPINOSA: UNPLUGGED AND UNPLANNED Fills the Room With Good Vibes at The Green Room 42

Even though she is a Broadway fixture and has an extremely devoted fan base, almost unbelievably, I have never seen Eden Espinosa onstage (Wicked, BROOKLYN, Rent.) That regrettable circumstance came to an end tonight when I caught her show Eden Espinosa: UNPLUGGED AND UNPLANNED at The Green Room 42. Espinosa was in the middle of a residency at the cabaret room when the pandemic shut the world down more than a year ago. Thankfully The Green Room 42 is not only back, as of tonight they have restored food and drink service, even though the house is only at half capacity. And luckily for us, Eden Espinosa is resuming her residency.

As the title suggests, the evening is very loosely structured. The setlist changes from performance to performance and the arrangements rely a good deal on improvisation between the musicians. Ms. Espinosa used the word "vibe" a lot in her casual banter. And her show does feel a lot like vibing in her living room. It's not every singer that could thrive under those conditions, but Espinosa is perfectly at home. She has the hallmark of all great singers. She can make you feel as if she is singing each lyric to you and you alone.

Her act is delightfully pared down and acoustic. She usually performs with a full band. For this residency, she is accompanied only by guitar and drums. It is exactly right for the intimate magic she creates. Tonight's setlist was an eclectic mix of original songs, and classic rock tunes by Rod Stewart, Billie Eilish, John Lennon, Alanis Morisette, Johnny Swim, and others. Her rethinking of Morrsettte's "You Ought to Know" was a revelation. No longer the wail of a young woman scorned, but the forthright resignation of a mature woman who's been intentionally betrayed. It was a skillfully acted scene that left the audience silent enough to hear a pin drop.

I was particularly impressed by Espinosa's own composition, "Answer." It is a poignant ballad about closure and self-care that sums up what many of us are feeling after a year of so much uncertainty and loss. She turned Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" into a freewheeling audience singalong, and Lennon's "Imagine" into a plea for dignity. She closed the night with a rare treat, Cy Coleman and Comden and Green's "Look Around" from The Will Rogers' Follies, a song about a past that's no longer possible, and an unforeseeable future. It couldn't be more timely.

But for me, the highlight of the evening was the most unstructured section of all. With the help of pianist Max Grossman, Eden Espinosa took requests from the audience. She let us choose, from the entire musical theatre canon, songs that she then performed as audition cuts. It was an impressive display of a performer who knows musical theatre backward and forward. Tonight's audience picked "I Miss the Mountains" from Next to Normal, "Out Tonight" from Rent (not the song she sang on Broadway,) "My Strongest Suit" from Aida, and "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret. This was no karaoke parlor trick. She gave full-on performances of songs picked totally at random. It was like being at the best cast party of all time.

Thankfully this is not the end of Eden Espinosa's residency at The Green Room 42. She has several more performances in the months to come. Be sure you have tickets for one of them. It is such a blessing to have live music back. With acts like Eden Espinosa: UNPLUGGED AND UNPLANNED, this could be the most exciting summer we've seen in a very long time.

For more information on Eden Espinosa, visit edenespinosa.com or @EdenEspinosa on Twitter. For more great acts at The Green Room 42, go to greenfignyc.com

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