Carrie Hart Brings Rodgers & Hart to Sterling's

On Sunday May 1, Carrie Hart presented the music of Rodgers and Hart in a program entitled Spring Is Here @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. This businesswoman's in depth involvement in music and the human spirit led her to develop a one-woman show The Courage of the Creative Spirit, in which she tells the inspiring stories of the composers of the golden age of Broadway and then sings their timeless music. This show devoted to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart is the first in a series of individual evenings, and accompanied by the Leslie Sharp Trio, Hart performed most admirably to a warm, intimate audience.

Opening with "Johnny One Note", Hart put the crowd into a carefree, happy mood and then followed with the poignant "My Funny Valentine", one of her finest moments. Explaining that Lorenz Hart was under 5 ft tall and often without love was the perfect way to introduce and clarify the meaning of this heartbreakingly beautiful standard, which remains one of my personal favorites. Other highlights of the evening included: "Little Girl Blue", "Lover", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "You Took Advantage of Me", an especially tender rendition of her title song "Spring Is Here", the hilariously different "To Keep My Love Alive" - there are so many delightful verses to this, Hart continued them as part of her encore to a zealous response from the crowd. There were also lovely renditions of "He Was to Good to Me", "It Never Entered My Mind", the buoyant "I Wish I Were in Love Again" and the infectious "The Lady Is a Tramp".

Of particular note was Hart's strong sense of knowing how to sing each song - which is an art in itself - and relating each to the overall big picture, which, in her brief patter between each number, she did sublimely. Spring Is Here is kind of like a mixed up, crazy journey through the various stages of love - from giggly, silly first love to the cheating and disillusionment of later love. In charting her course, Hart showed the changing moods and emotions in every song she sang. It's always nice to see a performer who has a clearly structured set. The one constructive comment I would have for Miss Hart is to perhaps add a few touches of humor, a joke or two, or maybe a little anecdote, since many of the songs are so sad. It is well known that Lorenz Hart was homosexual, a hidden fact which must have caused much of his pain, but she never alluded to it. This is where a director's eye might enhance the show's execution and add further perspective.

Leslie Sharp at the piano, Brad Bobo on bass, and Keith Larson on drums were stellar throughout.
Spring Is Here is a very enjoyable evening for Rodgers and Hart fans, and a terrific beginning for Carrie Hart's presentation of the show. This lady has a fine, low-key delivery, ideal for a night club setting, a wonderfully intuitive sense of the music, and her own very special and personal way of sharing it with her audience.

 

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