Review: KT Sullivan's CARPET RIDE at the Laurie Beechman Is a Glorious Glide

The beaming blonde songstress with a trademark look (matching hat and feather boa) greeted the audience with a warm and reflective “Hello, Young Lovers” from The King and I. It had drama, it had beauty, it had emotion.  I was happy when I secured the  assignment to review another solo show by the reliably radiant KT Sullivan, following earlier autumn nights enjoying her set at Pangea and her stylish appearance at the annual Cabaret Convention presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, for which she’s the Artistic Director. It’s an institution and a valuable part of New York City’s cabaret landscape.  So is she.  So is the Laurie Beechman Theatre, the downstairs performance space at the West Bank Cafe on West 42nd Street where her very gratifying, gracious gig (with many highlights and gorgeous high notes) was held on Wednesday December 11th. But it has been in danger of becoming one more memory of a “we used to go there” place, reportedly preparing to close due to pecuniary issues  — that’s a polite way of saying money troubles. Those woes grew during and beyond Covid-caused closure losses, despite the donations brought in by campaigns, a star-studded virtual telethon in 2020, and another fundraiser performance event this year.  But at the start of her show, which was also billed as a benefit to forestall what was feared to be the shuttering that would cause shuddering of fans of the theatre district space, the smiling soprano stated the good news.  As announced, there are new owners who’ll take over  – Tom and Michael D’Angora, who’d led the earlier rescue efforts. There will be an “intermission” starting December 16 as the place temporarily closes and gets ready to re-open.

On numbers with even a small amount of potential to be serious and pensive, KT Sullivan’s performances have deepened and become more nuanced in recent times, feeling more and more authentically involved, open, and vulnerable.  In the past, many songwriter-focused shows (solo programs or duo acts with Jeff Harnar or Mark Nadler) had put the focus on the material, in a rather more “presentational” style. We see her heart more now.  It may well be that her new M.O. to be her own piano accompanist, while adding a major responsibility, gives her the flexibility and control to be more in the moment and create moods through her touch and timing on the keyboard.  And, of course, there’s the weight of — and reaction to — passing years and the passing away of loved ones, changing perspectives, and lyrics that resonate with new meanings or old memories.  

  I had very much admired her show Faraway Places, filled with songs referencing such locations as Ireland, Sorrento, Vienna, Istanbul, Tahiti, New York City, and whatever faraway places one might fly over on an imaginary magic “Carpet Ride.”  I caught it at Pangea in October; she repeated it at that downtown spot in November and it served as the opening attraction of the Winter Rhythms marathon of consecutive music shows at Urban Stages, which closes on December 16. The Beechman show was titled Carpet Ride, so I expected something, well, different.  Or mostly different, since the earlier act had included the splendid song “Carpet Ride,” written by sibling Heather Sullivan as a gift (presented to on her opening night when she starred in the Broadway revival of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). In fact, quite a lot of the Faraway Places pieces were placed in the December 11 set, too; she came back to “Come Back to Sorrento,” took time going back to her Irish roots and routes following the “streets broad and narrow” trod by the fabled “Molly Malone,” and then there was her take on “Take Me Back to Manhattan.” This time there was an extra little connection to the place we were when the loopy song “Paris,” written ages ago for comical performer Beatrice Lillie, was rolled out, as we listeners inside the West Bank Cafe heard the repeated line addressed to Paris about loving, among other things, “your West Bank…”  

This is a singer who connects strongly with her audiences; smiles indicate that she’s as tickled by a cute line in a song as the audience might be, even though she’s known the phrase for decades.  An eyebrow is raised, a little pause is taken so a bit of wit (and sometimes a wistful sigh) registers.  Although she is sitting at the piano and playing for herself, she turns her head to establish and sustain eye contact, rather than having her head bent over, in profile, with eyes focused on the keyboard.  Patter was mostly casual and perky (sometimes the perkiness leads to rushed speech where one might miss some words).  During the performance, the singer had trouble with the modern technology equivalent of a pile of sheet music and a set list.  The device was running out of power.  Rather than getting flustered about charging the battery, she charged ahead, chatting about it, making light of the darkening screen. To the rescue came a tech-savvy audience member: Hannah Jane, a particularly talented young singer whose solo shows and performances in guest spots I’ve admired.  (I saw her first when she competed in the singing contest for teenagers coordinated by KT Sullivan and the Mabel Mercer Foundation and soon after in a cabaret panel we were all involved with.)

In the afternoon, I made a point to catch the TV weather report before I set out to catch this Carpet Ride and ride the subway to Times Square and walk the needed several blocks.  The weatherman warned of torrential rains during the early evening and wild winds and plummeting temperatures.  So, after not being able to locate my umbrella, I dressed in layers, wrapping myself, my bag, and my phone in various protective plastics, packed a towel, put my reviewer’s waterproof pen in my pocket and bravely set out.  And I was met with a light, feeble drizzle and slight breeze.  Where was the deluge?  Later, exiting the venue, the sprinkles were sporadic at most and all was calm.  My fellow audience members who got wet coming or going might have been a bit jealous of her when KT Sullivan casually remarked that her apartment in Manhattan Plaza is literally part of the building housing the West Bank Cafe and her commute to perform Carpet Ride is merely an elevator ride.  But her joy, smiles, and positive energy warmed the night and she could probably choose to warm up her voice by singing the childhood ditty “Rain, Rain, Go Away” (“...come again some other day”) and I wouldn’t be surprised if her big quantity of charm could do big things like that.

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See www.ktsullivan.com for more information about KT Sullivan.

Visit the Laurie Beechman on their website for more upcoming shows, and stay tuned for the next chapter for this venue.       

Photos of KT Sullivan by Stephen Sorokoff

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