Review: Patty Lohr Here At Last With BETTER NOW THAN NEVER at The Green Room 42

There was a coming out party recently, a presenting of a cabaret debutante, and who doesn’t love a good debut?  The lady of the hour was singing actress Patty Lohr, and, boy, did she take her time getting here, but when she did come to the party, she was well prepared… REALLY well prepared.  

On October 1st, 2019, I covered The Green Room 42 concert BROADWAY SINGS SARAH BAREILLES.  One of the people who performed that night was Patty Lohr, there to sing “Brave.”  In my review of the show, I commented that the only thing written next to her name was WOW.  So when I saw her show BETTER NOW THAN NEVER advertised at TGR42, I put in a request to review it weeks (nearly months) in advance.  There was no way I was going to miss it.  And on January 20th, a near-at-capacity house of people proved there was no way they were going to miss it, either.  And on that night, on January 20th, on the day of Patty Lohr’s cabaret coming out, we were the lucky ones.

Opening her evening from the audience, justthisclose to the first row of tables, Patty Lohr exuded a warmth and welcome-ness that made her utterly accessible.  This was the first indication that she has entered a lane in which she belongs because accessibility is the cornerstone of a successful cabaret show.  Why work in an intimate setting if the audience isn’t going to feel touched by you, isn’t going to feel like they can touch you?  For one solid hour (also an indication of cabaret savvy) Ms. Lohr reached out and touched the crowd.  She talked to them, not at them, and not over their heads, and she talked real with them.  Why had she waited so long to do this?  That isn’t me asking - it was her, addressing the matter publicly.  She outlined some of the reasons that she had delayed this moment in her career, and she did it with casual aplomb and absolute honesty.  Speaking of self-judgment, fear of the judgment of others, the nature of people-pleasing, overcoming the demons that accompany such an outing, and, finally, growth, Patty Lohr told it like it is.  And she told it like she is, often with tears in her eyes while smiling the smile of a truly happy human being, sometimes with a quiver in her hands and a shaking in her voice, possibly nerves but more likely excitement.  She might have presented with the glamour of a silver-screen leading lady, but she talked with the transparency of a modern-day role model.  She may have been there to entertain, but she was also there to teach.  It would not be a far stretch of the imagination to consider that, maybe, one of the people in the audience might have been inspired enough by Lohr’s story to go right home and begin crafting their own cabaret debut.  Few things are as intoxicating as authenticity.  That’s Patty Lohr all over the place: authentic as hell.

Also authentic as hell is the Lohr instrument.  As my nephew said when he was five years old: hody mody (adorable translation: holy moly).  That performance of “Brave” back in 2019 was, it turns out, merely a promise of great things to come.  Patty Lohr, it turns out (and no surprise), is one heck of a vocalist.  She has the voice of a rock and roll singer and the setlist of a musical theater actress.  Performing songs from Once On This Island (“Come Down From the Tree”), Next To Normal (“Light”), The Last Five Years (“Goodbye Until Tomorrow”), Dogfight (“Before It’s Over”), and A Man of No Importance (“Welcome To The World”), Lohr appeared as though she were a rock singer bringing down the house at Madison Square Garden (or, at least, Sony Hall).  Of course, this vibe was not achieved only by using her incredible instrument and interpretive skills, for Musical Director Drew Wutke worked with Lohr to create arrangements that could allow her some room to fly in her own direction.  There were moments of reminiscence in the performances that honored the original creations, but the musical stories being told were all Patty’s and they were brought into the light Patty’s way.  And on the subject of light, TGR42 tech wizard Sheridan Glover was behind their console giving Lohr full-on rock concert FX from light grid to soundboard and back again.  Finishing off the polishing of the sound of the show was a stellar band made up of Hajime Yoshida (Guitar), Tina Lama (Bass), and Paige Andrews (Drums), all of whom joined Wutke in lifting Lohr up to the highest of heights.  Of course, once the music had faded into ether, Patty had two workboot-clad feet back on the ground (under a long gown, a lady may deck her feet out in anything comfortable she cares to nominate), sharing the stories that matched up with her songs, and sharing herself.  

Patty Lohr also shared with the crowd her gal pal, Ruthie Ann Miles, and their patently visible devotion to one another was front and center for two numbers, a mash-up of “The Ballad of Witches’ Road” (Agatha All Along) and “Defying Gravity” (Wicked), and evening highlight “Not While I’m Around” which they performed while gazing with sisterly love at one another, finishing with the tenderest of hand grasps imaginable.  Miles might have a Tony but Lohr has a Ruthie, and all evidence would indicate that that is the real prize.  It was a delightful way to get to know Patty even more, through the eyes of a best friend and one-time roommate.

Other highlights from this memorable night of musical and personal exploration were “Not My Father’s Son” from Kinky Boots, “Wait For It” from Hamilton, “My Days” from The Notebook, and the Leslie Odom Jr. arrangement of the Barielles/Michaelson tune “Winter Song,” but one suspects that if Patty Lohr were to sing a full sixty minutes of pop music, country tunes, or Alpine yodeling, it would be an evening of highlights.  That is because Patty Lohr has talent of the vocal storytelling persuasion and Patty Lohr has a clear intention toward self.  She knows who she is and what she wants to say, and she doesn’t seem to mind being straightforward with either, which makes her pairing with director Ari Axelrod appropriate, he being one of the most authentic and self-knowing artists working in the industry today.  

At a certain point, near the end of the evening, Patty Lohr said the words, “Do it afraid.”  We have all read that a hero is someone who does something they are afraid to do - they just do it anyway.  Patty Lohr said she was afraid to do this show.  She said it right to the audience that had turned up to see her.  She did it anyway.  She should do it again - it’s worth doing again and it’s good.  Getting one’s art and one’s story into the light, whatever the timeline… that’s the reward that comes from being Brave.

Find great shows to see on the Green Room 42 website HERE.

Visit the Patty Lohr website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

 

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