Review: MAGGIE RANDOLPH Makes LA Cabaret Debut with HOME AGAIN

Actress/singer Maggie Randolph won the prestigious LA's Next Great Stage Star 2016 last winter. Upon witnessing her amazing vocal range and spunky personality laced with oodles of warmth, it is easy to understand why. On Sunday November 20, Randolph premiered her LA Cabaret show Home Again to an SRO audience at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. Accompanying her at the piano were musical director Richard Berent, Kerry Fenster on guitar and Ksenia Rozhdestvenskaya on violin. Needless to say, they all made beautiful music together in the hour long set. The entire evening was directed with great fervor by Peter Welkin.

Randolph traced her years growing up in California with her supportive family, her career move to New York City, which provided some great comedic moments, and the move back to LA where she has at last found her niche. She talked about living in a cheap apartment in Harlem on the 7th floor and her delicious rendition of "The Girl in 14G" spoke of living above an opera singer and below one who specialized in a bizarre-sounding style not unlike a loud hiphop. She carried off the operatic notes effortlessly due to her incredible range and made the entire story a funny but terribly human one where you learn to appreciate the crazy world of show business from one extreme to the other. She has the kind of voice that is perfect for musical theatre. Sondheim's "Another Hundred People" from Company was delivered just superbly as was "Man of La Mancha", equally strong and triumphant sung by a woman.

Singer friend Sarah Gonzales dueted with Randolph on the lovely "My Heart Is Split" and Charlotte Mary Wen, who had previously won LA's Next Great Stage Star, also guested and dueted with Randolph on "Ready to Be Loved". It was magnanimous of Randolph to share the stage with these two pros, who added even more sparkle to the proceedings.

Other highlights included a gorgeous Carole King medley up top: "Beautiful", "You've Got a Friend", "Earth Move Under My Feet" and "Home Again", which inspired the title of Randolph's show. Also on tap were a beautiful rendition of Taylor Swift's "The Best Day", where she paid tribute to her mom and dad, who were at the front table, simply beaming with joy. Just before closing the show with "Man of La Mancha" there was a terrific 'high C' medley that included Minnie Riperton's "Loving You", "Emotions", and "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide. Randolph closed with "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?", bringing her theme of Home Again full circle.

One special highlight of the hour was the song written especially for last year's contest winner - to record - "I'm Where I Belong" co-written by Michael Sterling and Gary Lynn Floyd. It's a truly pretty and endearing song that fit perfectly into this show. Listening to the first verse of the song before singing live, Randolph remarked how serendipitous it was for the song to enter her life at just the right moment, when she feels comfortably at home.

I so appreciate genuine talent and Maggie Randolph has it in spades. She is a sweet, loving gal with an uber infectious personality and an angelic vocal instrument. Hopefully, she has much musical comedy theatre awaiting her in the near future.

Watch for her rising star!

(photo credit: Peter Welkin)

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