Review: SAXY SUSIE Clausen Sounds Sweet In Don't Tell Mama Solo Show Debut

One of the best things about the community of cabaret and concert creatives is that they are always at the ready when a new talent arrives on the scene. Actors between gigs might put together a nightclub act, artists experimenting with new artistic outlets might explore storytelling or comedy, even novice drag artists and comics looking to get their feet wet can do so in the small venues of New York City and they will, usually, find a new family of friends and supporters that await them there.

Susie Clausen is a newcomer to the small venue stages of Manhattan, but not the small venues. The realtor, wife, and mother is a big fan of the entertainments that can be found in the cabaret rooms, jazz clubs, and piano bars of the city, and, some three (ish) years ago, she began a rapid journey from the seats out front to the center spot. Three years. That's pretty amazing. There are Broadway veterans whose solo club acts have yet to materialize, there are regulars of the group show circuit who haven't made it to the main mic yet, and there are students of the art form of cabaret who wait year after year after year to, finally, put out their personal product. The fact that Susie Clausen dipped her toes in the water a mere three years ago is remarkable since she has not only made her solo show debut - she has done a full run of shows, starting back in December and running right up to the present time.

And her name is now SAXY SUSIE.

Saxy Susie has done everything right. She took a love for the art form of cabaret, a connection between herself and her father (a jazz devotee), a genuine affection for the alto sax, and a team of mentors and supporters that every budding talent would be lucky to have, and she created an act, a persona, a brand. First off, Susie Clausen's mentor and director is the legendary nightclub singer and storyteller Marilyn Maye, who has acted as private instructor, writer, and musical arranger to Clausen. Maye has helped Susie in the writing of a script (a good script that is personal, whimsical, and economic), she has helped Susie in the curation of a set of songs befitting a newcomer to the art of singing (all the musical selections fit Susie's range with meticulous care), she has crafted a series of medleys that are entertaining but that also give Susie room to play, to grow, to have fun, and she has instructed Susie in the fine art of delivering dialogue to an audience in a manner that is affable, accessible, and appealing. In short: Marilyn Maye has taken a woman who, three years ago, had never set foot on any stage anywhere and turned her into an entertainer.

And Saxy Susie is entertaining.

Susie Clausen walks in the room with two things already working for her: she is off-the-charts charming and likable, and she is unbelievably movie star beautiful. There is no locked door that beauty can't open and Susie Clausen is the kind of beautiful that blows bolts right off the portal (in an interesting twist, one of her early numbers in the show is the theme from I Dream of Jeannie, and the resemblance between Susie and Barbara Eden is not lost on the astute). But once Susie starts talking to the audience, her delightful demeanor, her jovial jocularity, and her willingness to poke fun at herself doubles down on every ounce of goodwill wafting up to the stage from the audience. Susie Clausen has star quality, and no mistake (she is also a fashionable dresser), and when you add talent to star quality, you've got something with which to work - and Susie has talent.

Saxy Susie's talent is still young. It's still new, it's still growing, and it's in the room with her. More than a couple of times, Susie remarked on her still-evolving vocal abilities with good-natured jokes and genuine smile-informed queries, "Did I hit that note?" (she did). It is a lovely, warm, inviting singing voice (some of Susie's lower register notes are genuinely gorgeous) that is still young and that will grow as she continues her studies with Marilyn. It is rare for a novice to go to expert in three years; Susie has made good use of her time, but there is always more to do, and one might offer that the most immediate area of focus for Susie should be breath control. There were times at her February 24th show when the impressive flow of air brought forth strong, powerful, perfect notes, while some of the smaller, quieter notes had a slight sense of wavering about them. For a voice so young, though, the goods are there, and they are pretty. As the technique of singing becomes like breathing to Susie, she will begin to discover what her artistic voice is and how she wants to interpret the songs and the stories, and that will be a fun journey to watch. As Truvy says in Steel Magnolias: "I think her form and content will improve with time." Susie Clausen is in the right place to continue growing as an artist and as a performer, and it could, well, be a tidy career for her in cabaret.

Susie is also in the right place as a member of the community for that growth pattern, for she has been building family in two of the city's most prominent and steadfast clubs. She has made a series of appearances at Birdland during productions of Jim Caruso's Cast Party and The Lineup With Susie Mosher. Having two members of The Birdland Four be in your corner is important, for those appearances on the two Birdland stages prepared Susie well for her Freshman outing. For her debut, Susie chose Don't Tell Mama, a club where booking managers Sidney Myer and Tanya Moberly have a mission to find and present new talents. The two mentors of Midtown have turned Don't Tell Mama into a playground of discovery where teachers like Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts teach the art of cabaret some daytimes, and where newcomers on the scene test the waters of the industry at night. Saxy Susie has chosen wisely, by way of surrounding herself with this circle of support.

Saxy Susie has also chosen wisely by surrounding herself with the most exquisite musical team of Guitarist Peter Calo, Bassist Tom Hubbard, Drummer Ray Marchica, and Musical Director/Pianist David Pearl. The four gentlemen (and gentle men) protect Susie at every turn, providing her with impeccable support so that the musical program sounds great, but also so that she can focus on her storytelling. As a new singer, a new saxophone player, and a new entertainer, there is every chance that Susie Clausen might have been overloaded by too many areas of focus but with these musical magicians behind her, she can focus on that which brought her to the room: the telling of musical stories, be it with her voice or her instrument - and tell the stories, Susie does.

The musical programming ranged from standards (a Charleston medley that included "Jazz Baby" and "Ballin' the Jack" had special lyrics tailored to Susie's life story) to modern-day radio (a rain medley featured "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "It's Raining Men" as well as "Laughter in the Rain" and "Pennies From Heaven"), and even though the medleys did rule the roost of Saxy Susie's debut show, Susie Clausen really rose to the occasion on songs that stood on their own, like the delicious novelty number "Personality" and an emotional yet contained "God Bless the Child" that was the highlight of the evening, providing evidence that Saxy Susie may look like a "Backwoods Barbie" but "If You Knew Susie" you would find a woman of substance and soul searching depth of feeling. Like a gem in the Diamond medley that she did near the end of her show, Susie Clausen has many facets to her - shiny, interesting, and beautiful, and it promises to be a pleasure for the industry and community that has welcomed her to their ranks to watch (and assist her in) the journey and the rise of a work in progress. We are all a work in progress, only Saxy Susie is moving at a rate a little faster and a little more determined than that which we see every day, and that certainly does catch a person's attention.

Good for Saxy Susie Clausen, doing it her way.

Find shows to see on the Don't Tell Mama website HERE.

Learn more about Saxy Susie Clausen on her website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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