Review: Linda Kahn Urges Triad Crowd to SAY YES! And They Do.

It's a funny thing, doing your very first-ever club act. You're a little scared, and a little excited, you're a little nervous, and a little thrilled, and you're so ready to get out there and do it, and you think you might faint or something truly undignified before you even get to the stage. And then they call your name and you're out there, standing in the light, listening to the welcome applause... and you have to do it. Sometimes it doesn't happen, and you find yourself, later, sitting in the quiet of your own space, replaying every moment so you can figure out why it didn't happen. And sometimes it happens in a way so big that you almost can't believe it, and you want to cry, and you can't wait to do it again, and you don't ever want to do it again. So you just sit, in the quiet of your space, and think about how wonderful it was.

Last Friday night Linda Kahn made her solo show debut at The Triad. Hopefully, one week later, she is sitting in the quiet of her own space, thinking about what a special night it was, and planning when she will do it again.

It is very rare for a cabaret performer to come out of the gate like an old pro. Most of the time, a person making their solo show debut makes what is lovingly and respectfully referred to as a "promising" first outing or some other such phrase praising their effort and encouraging them to make it better. Ms. Kahn did, in fact, come out of the gate like an old pro. That doesn't negate a blunder here or there, perhaps a missed cue or maybe losing her way in the script - that happens to even the most seasoned performer and is to be expected from a novice. During SAY YES! those one or two moments during which Kahn got so caught up in her emotions that the storytelling needed a brief pause were instances during which her audience fell more madly in love with her. Humanity will win every time.

Throughout her hour-plus show, Linda Kahn displayed a wealth of that humanity, from her warm, inviting but not over-trained singing voice to the exuberant joy with which she presented every single moment - even the dramatic stories during which Linda was actively succeeding at the breaking of your heart were supported by the palpable elation of a storyteller at their craft. It mattered not whether Ms. Kahn was simply having some fun with bassist extraordinaire Jay Leonhart, turning tender on the subject of being a mother, or sharing spoken-word stories from her life: each and every moment in Say Yes! was a human one. That all started with Linda Kahn's unquenchable desire to connect with others. From the elevated stage at The Triad and the considerable distance between the spotlight and the first row, Kahn made it her mission to sing to her guests, to talk to her patrons, to look into every pair of eyes that she could, in order to make the human-to-human bond a strong one. This proclivity is one of the two greatest keys to the success of a cabaret performer, and Linda has mastered it.

The other key is absolute honesty. That, Linda Kahn has mastered as well.

Under the close scrutiny and watchful eyes of director Jeff Harnar and Musical Director Christopher Denny (both of whom have risen to this special occasion), Linda spent her seventy-five minutes on stage telling the truth. There was truth in a self-penned poem that threads throughout, there was truth in tales of health complications in life, the loss of a dream, the discovery of love, the creation of a family, and there was truth in each musical story told. Whether working with compositions by Maltby & Shire or Sara Bareilles, from Kander & Ebb or Johnny Nash, Linda Kahn maintains a straightforward, uncomplicated manner of performance that manages to remain contained within her petite frame, while managing to reach to the back of the theater, an effect captured perfectly in Carnelia's "Just a Housewife" and McBroom's "Wheels" - the unquestionable triumphs of the evening. The former showed Kahn off in a musical storytelling light once inhabited by Nancy LaMott, and the latter conjured up dreams of an entire evening, or perhaps an album, of Linda Kahn performing the Amanda McBroom cannon. This is storytelling worth seeing and noting, from these heartfelt performances to lighter moments like a duet between Linda and Denny of a composition of his own creation titled "Anywhere With You" or a character-informed "Miss Byrd" that reminds one of the musical monologues once performed in concert by Liza Minnelli. It's quite a leap from Nancy LaMott to Liza Minnelli, but it's a leap that is completely plausible. It isn't that Kahn sings like either the icon or the legend, and it isn't that she emulates either lady's performance style - it is a quality that Linda possesses as a storyteller that allows her to live in rooms once inhabited by those girls.

Anyone who ever saw Nancy LaMott perform can speak about the purity of the connection between the singer and the song. LaMott lived in service of the story that was being told, and everything else became a factor that could fall away, leaving what was important to fall into place. That same quality filled every corner of The Triad during the McBroom ballad Linda performed last Friday, and it is a quality that will serve her well, moving forward. Meanwhile, everyone can look at videos available online or on DVD of Minnelli doing that which she does best, the musical monologue in which characters present to an audience a three-act play. The greatest of these is "It Was A Good Time" but one can also search online to see "Sorry I Asked" or "I Couldn't Be Happier" to get a look at the art form of which Minnelli is Mistress. With her "Miss Byrd" performance, Linda Kahn more than adequately proved to her audience that she has this same gift, successfully taking the story of the sex-positive office clerk to places never-before-witnessed, effectively stepping out of the shadow of the original Miss Byrd, Miss Sally Mayes. These two sides of Linda Kahn are proof-positive that, although it has taken her a few years to get up onto the cabaret stage, on the cabaret stage is where she belongs.

It would be nice to find a constructive criticism, some helpful suggestions, any comment that doesn't lean directly into praise to offer Team Kahn but the truth is that there aren't any. With Harnar, Denny, and Leonhart by her side, Linda Kahn is on her way to a nice little career on the nightclub stage, and even though there were some little bumps in the road, they were all little human bumps, endearing her to her audience. Moving forward, all Kahn needs to do is remember to breathe, stay economic with her patter, and to always, always, always follow her instinct to stay connected and honest because that's what turns good cabaret into great cabaret.

Linda Kahn SAY YES! Has completed its one-show run at The Triad. Find other great shows at The Triad HERE.

Follow Linda Kahn on Facebook HERE.

Linda Kahn 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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