Review: FOR WOMEN, BY WOMEN at The Green Room 42 Introduces a New Star to the Concert Stage: Mariah Lyttle

As she neared the end of her show, Mariah Lyttle remarked that it had felt like it was going to be really long show, but that it had actually gone by so quickly. Well, it wasn't a long show and it did go by too quickly. It was a perfectly respectable forty-five minutes but it needed to be sixty minutes - her audience deserved it, and so did she, because those first forty-five minutes were (each and every one of them) spectacular. FOR WOMEN, BY WOMEN was one impressive solo show debut, one that promises great things out of Mariah Lyttle, the future cabaret and concert star.

For this inaugural solo show Mariah Lyttle chose to sing the music of women who have lit the way for her, frequently equating the songs of Whitney, Chaka, Mariah, Aretha, and Dionne to the women in her personal life who have done more than provide illumination - they have built a foundation. Appropriate for Black History Month (and for a young woman of color) all of the artists represented are the great black women of song, and if this reporter could make a modest prediction: Mariah Lyttle will be a name found on future lists of the great female singers, black or otherwise. Never mind that Ms. Lyttle got up onto the stage completely and totally prepared for her show, forget about the delightful patter with the audience that seemed freestyle but clearly wasn't, given the fact that, at one point, Mariah stated, "This isn't what I planned to say here," and simply accept how comfortable and at ease she was in the medium - all good reasons why Lyttle should succeed on the concert stage. The bottom line, though, is that when people go to a live music venue, be it large or small, what they go for is musical storytelling that will thrill the senses and touch the soul. That is what Mariah Lyttle has to offer... plus the other factors named above. The big question is: why has it taken so long for her to take this career step? Who knows? Who cares? All that matters is that, now on the concert stage, Mariah Lyttle stays there.

Every music lover, every devotee of musical artists and their artistry, has a list of singers who are particularly adept at reaching inside of the heart and flicking the On switch. At times, during these artists' performances, those music aficionados will usually find themselves breathing a sigh of contentment, of wonder, of adoration. For this writer, those moments occur most often when either Donna Murphy or Deborah Cox is on the stage. When Mariah Lyttle was in the middle of her exquisite "Ain't No Way" one of those sighs of satisfaction, one of those utterances of pure joy escaped these lips, and although six musical numbers had been performed before that moment, it was then that the fact was in the air: this will be considered one of the great voices.

Although her upbeat, groovy, rock concert performances of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and "Respect" (not to mention an "I'm Every Woman" that had audience members singing back-up and dancing at their tables) were also highlights in her evening of tributes, there was great merit in a performance of "Hero" that was dedicated to Mariah's sister, and a stunningly re-constructed "I Say A Little Prayer" that Musical Director Rebekah Bruce Parker orchestrated to perfection to suit the Mariah Lyttle story. And since all of For Women, By Women was the Mariah Lyttle story, it was imperative that Ms. Lyttle's faith become the topic of conversation, which it did, leading to a stirring acapella performance of "It Is Well" that left much of the audience misty, and all of the audience as silent as the night. It was an elegant and personal moment that informed, nicely, a program filled with mostly Top 40, with the exception of a monumental "I'm Here" - a song everyone should sing, at least once, even if they lack Ms. Lyttle's vocal abilities. Every person should be allowed to sing those words, "I'm Beautiful" and believe it, for themself, in that place where they know the truth, and Lyttle's rendition of the classic was everything anyone at The Green Room 42 might need to hear to know that they were seeing the birth of a great concert star. That one number, and the other eight around it, were proof positive that the world of music has a wondrous journey ahead with Mariah Lyttle.

Take it on faith.

The gifted For Women, By Women creative team were Jacob Stuckelman (Producer), Taylor A. Blackman (Director), Rebekah Bruch Parker (Musical Director).

Mariah Lyttle FOR WOMEN, BY WOMEN was (for now) a one-off but there are other great shows to be found on the Green Room 42 website HERE.

HERE is the Mariah Lyttle website.

Mariah Lyttle gets a five out of five microphones rating for performing her entire show without the use of a lyric sheet, tablet, or music stand.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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