BWW Reviews: CORINNA SOWERS-ADLER Holds to Her Own 'High Standards' with a Show By the Same Name at Metropolitan Room

As she wends her way towards the stage at the opening of her new show at the Metropolitan Room (performances were on June 15 and 20), Corinna Sowers Adler sings the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II classic "All The Things You Are" with warm, legato phrases that surround the club like a hug. Sowers Adler achieves this not only with her singing, but also the friendly and personal nature of her bridging dialogue. In High Standards, she manages to make us feel privy to an authentic self without a lot of in-jokes intended for attending friends and family.

The standards to which this show's title refers are not only those evergreen numbers collected in The Great American Song Book, but also yardsticks by which we measure quality and value in life.

Having grown up listening to Lead Zeppelin, Steppenwolf, and Billy Joel, Sowers Adler tells us, her family was shocked to hear her return from voice lessons singing songs like Victor Herbert's "Art is Calling For Me": I long to be a prima donna, donna, donna/I long to shine upon the stage/With my avoirdupois/And my tra la la la la/I would be the chief sensation of the age. Not only does the artist sail through every difficult, operetta note here, but comic delivery is priceless. Freeze frames reflect a Grade A ham. That she manages not to go over the top is high praise.

Sopranos, the performer complains, have gotten a bad rap. "Hey Alex," she remarks to her Musical Director/Pianist Alex Rybeck, "how do you put a sparkle in a soprano's eye?" Response: "I don't know, Corinna . . . " "You shine a flashlight in her ear." It's the first of a series of intermittent soprano jokes which I swear to you are funny in context. (Also well placed and deftly implemented.)

Sowers Adler's grandparents exposed her to the Songbook, an aunt and uncle's 50-plus year marriage created a (musical) standard for romance. She reads from an actual letter her Aunt Carmen wrote about "The man with the ocean blue eyes" whom she married, then sings "Unforgettable." (Irving Gordon). Rybeck caresses the piano. I dare you not to get misty-eyed. Numbers are more affecting for being uncluttered and sincere, lyrical meaning front and center.

Lightening the mood, the vocalist shows photos of her heartthrobs back when, including Joey MacIntyre (from New Kids on the Block), Kermit the Frog, and Ricky Martin ("Well, I didn't know Martin was gay," she jokes) followed by a pristine, soft-shoe-on-sand version of Victor Young/Edward Heyman's "When I Fall in Love." We're then regaled with her research on contemporary young people's standards concerning affection. These include a quote from Miley Cyrus "When she was a good girl" and several from Tumblr. Again, funny.

"I Can Cook Too" (Leonard Bernstein/Betty Comden & Adolf Green) scales from flirty to provocative. The word "demitasse" never sounded so common'a my house. A lower, jazz baby octave adds to appealing frisson. Billy Joel's "This is The Time to Remember" is performed in the same, effective vocal range. In Sowers-Adler's hands, one attends to the story in the song.

The iconic "I'll Be Seeing You" (Irving Kahal/Sammy Fain) sprinkled with Harry James' "It's Been a Long, Long Time" is simply gorgeous. Rybeck's piano alone might draw a tear. How he elicits sound while touching the keys with such finesse is a question for the ages. It's as if we viscerally hear with our hearts.

"If I Ruled the World" (Leslie Bricusse/Cyril Ornadel)--vocal chiffon, is gracefully intertwined with "Imagine" (John Lennon)--heartfelt, almost recitative. Sowers Adler's tribute to those vocalists who inspire her is (cleverly) Meredith Wilson's "Till There Was You," accompanied by a pianistic rippling brook. Lovely.

The few less than satisfying parentheses include an almost tearful (overkill) rendition of "Both Sides Now" (Joni Mitchell) and a New York Medley (another one?!) which feels forcibly interjected. Taking it down a notch almost everywhere would also serve.

Corinna Sowers Adler has created a well-structured, heartwarming, and amusing show. Alex Rybeck's arrangements just keep getting better.

Photo top by Maryann Lopinto

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