Review: Liora Michelle Trills and Thrills in THE GREEDY SOPRANO at Don't Tell Mama

You can tell Liora Michelle has a sense of humor about life, about her job, and about herself even before walking in the door of Don't Tell Mama's Brick Room. The title of her show is a dead giveaway (and so is the photo she has been using, of late, as show art, arms up in the air and a cheeky, satisfied grin on her face) --THE GREEDY SOPRANO is one of the cleverest show titles to come along in a while, and, aside from telling you that Michelle is witty, it is a thoroughly appropriate title. Liora Michelle is, indeed, a soprano, a true opera-singing soprano with one of the loveliest instruments likely to be found in a cabaret room these days. Not everyone cares to listen to legit sopranos, finding the sound to be thin, reedy, shrill or overpowering of vibrato, but this writer can safely say that anyone sitting in a room listening to Liora Michelle sing would be impressed by the sheer loveliness of her voice, to say nothing of the thrill-inducing power observed when she really lets go. Liora Michelle is a Prima Donna supreme, and with The Greedy Soprano she claims her place in the cabaret community of New York - one should expect many more shows out of the lady, and anyone producing a group show should get on the horn with her, immediately, in search of her services.

In her sixty-minute show (THANK you, Don't Tell Mama, for starting on time, a practice that some clubs seem to be viewing as a mere option, of late) Liora Michelle covers a wide range of musical styles, singing arias in French, Italian and Spanish, and Broadway by Berlin, Gershwin and Rodgers and Hart, with a little side trip to movie soundtracks when she sings (one of this writer's favorites of the evening) "Never On a Sunday" in Greek, a sublime moment to be had in a night filled with so abundant a musical feast. Exhibiting an ability for acting during her songs, Ms. Michelle was especially connected to "The Autumn Leaves" and "Goodnight My Someone," both of which give the artist an opportunity to use her expressive face and wistful eyes to further the story being told through expertly executed vocal craft. Not falling prey to the habit many have of creating a ballad-heavy show, Ms. Michelle makes sure there is plenty of comedy, sensuality, and pep throughout the evening, with "Metropolitan Scat" being the clear standout of the more festive songs performed, though the chance to see Liora Michelle play the castanets should not be taken for granted. Musically speaking, Michelle and her team (Director Lennie Watts and Musical Director Bill Zeffiro) have done a meticulous job of choosing a setlist that shows a variety of styles, that showcases the versatility of her voice, and that doesn't pander to the audience. Michelle's few sentences describing the songs that aren't in English are enjoyable and not at all reminiscent of a classroom, and her delightful personality and ease at speaking make these analyses a pleasure to listen to, but once those few seconds of chat are concluded, she leaves the audience to follow the foreign language by keeping up with the acting in the performance and precision of her diction.

Pleasant as the spoken moments are in The Greedy Soprano, there are some bumps in the road here, easily smoothed over with some thoughtful consideration. One of the most effective songs in the show is the Bill Zeffiro composed "Half a Lifetime" and Ms. Michelle stops the action of the show so that Mr. Zeffiro can set the scene for the song, one that appears in his musical about Houdini. This breaks, badly, the flow of action of Michelle's own play. With deference to Mr. Zeffiro, it would be much more effective for Ms. Michelle to use only a few words of backstory to prepare the audience, rather than turn the task over to a lovely and talented man who has not been the focus of the audience's attention for the last half hour. Never, in any cabaret show, should the words "At this point in the show" be heard explaining a song -- tonight's show is The Greedy Soprano, and the audience at The Greedy Soprano doesn't care about Houdini, they care about The Greedy Soprano and why she wants to sing "Half a Lifetime." Indeed, this is a recurring theme in The Greedy Soprano.

Who is The Greedy Soprano? Why is she greedy? What is it about each of these songs that makes her just HAVE to sing them? These are all questions that come to mind while watching the mischievous and marvelous Michelle. The Greedy Soprano is not only a great title, it is a great character. Liora Michelle is not only an entertaining singer, she is an entertaining woman. Any time Ms. Michelle speaks during her act, she is charming and informative -- but what she speaks about is usually information about the song, the history of the song, the history of sopranos ... and the only soprano in which this writer is interested during sixty minutes with Liora Michelle is The Greedy Soprano. It would have been wonderful to hear more about what is inside her head and her heart; as she goes along telling stories with her songs, a morsel or two about what the songs mean to her would make more complete and satisfying the story of The Greedy Soprano.

Not especially satisfying was a difficult to accept combining of the songs "Fifty Percent" and "One Fine Day." Both are enjoyable songs on their own, and this writer understands the concept and applauds the attempt at doing something new, something interesting, but it doesn't work. Liora Michelle is a beautiful singer and an interesting actor, and in those moments between "I don't iron his shirts, I don't sew on his buttons" and "When the morning comes," any person who has a history with the song has already invested in the moment, in the character, in the journey. Having that journey be interrupted by "One fine day you'll look at me" is jarring and disappointing. There is a certain amount of excitement that builds up during those few lines of "Fifty Percent," excitement over the next four minutes, excitement over getting to see a wonderful singing actress take that journey, and the excitement become abject upset at having that journey be, so abruptly, taken away. Mash-ups and medleys are a fabulous invention and an artistic delight, but there are some songs that simply cannot, ever, be interrupted and "Fifty Percent" is one of them. This writer will spend the rest of his days waiting for the blissful, heavenly day when he gets to see Liora Michelle sing "Fifty Percent" from start to finish. Now THAT is something about which one could get really greedy.

And people WILL get greedy for this soprano. Liora Michelle is a welcome addition to the cabaret world, and though the opera world will, doubtless, be calling her back for many shows, one hopes that she will be gracing the stages of the cabaret scene for a long time to come because Liora Michelle is an absolute delight to see and hear in a live setting, be it the biggest opera house in the world, or the most intimate cabaret room in the city.

THE GREEDY SOPRANO has completed a run of shows at Don't Tell Mama but when future dates are announced Broadway World will bring you the news.

Find Liora Michelle online at her website

Find great shows to see by visiting the Don't Tell Mama website

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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