On Wednesday evening, I attended Marilyn Maye's closing night at Chelsea's marvelous Metropolitan Room cabaret. As has become custom, it was a complete sell-out crowd, and Ms. Maye had 'em eating out of her hand from her first, throaty note. It was undeniable that her voice was a bit more ragged than when I saw her on Sunday, but she still had power, nuance and clarity--and sounded damn terrific for someone who'd been performing a high-octane, 90 minute show nightly for over a week. It's all the more remarkable that this feisty lady just turned 80--yes, Eight Oh. And she's still high-kicking up a storm during her raucous "It's Today" encore, and belting out showstopping notes galore.
The Grand Dame of New York Cabaret, Miss Julie Wilson, was also in the audience that evening, and very vocally made her approval of Ms. Maye's talents known throughout the show. The always-chic Wilson looked splendid, and she opened her own show at The Metropolitan last night, which I'm anxious to see; I was an instant Wilson fan from the moment I first saw her at The Alogonquin nearly 10 years ago. Julie Wilson is truly the consummate cabaret performer, so the highlight of Sunday's show was studying this great artist intensely watch another artist (Marilyn Maye) sing and act her way through the highly-emotive "Guess Who I Saw Today."
That tale of an outwardly placid suburban housewife seething with contained rage over her husband's infidelity was one of the very few downbeat moments in a show otherwise dedicated to "party"-themed material, and a sneak preview of Maye's upcoming fall program of torch songs. "This is a happy show, but in September, it's gonna be a real downer," Maye joked. Judging from her own hearty good humor, and the rapt attention her worshipful audience's paid to every note, feeling blue will never have felt so good. Until then, enjoy this highlight from Maye's only live album, from 1965 (The Second of Maye, recorded at the Living Room nightclub). http://www.box.net/shared/1qwzpme8gw
Julie Wilson! Thank God she's still singing. Saw her yonks ago at the Rainbow Room (and speaking of artists watching, Karen Akers was in the audience, looking rapt).
ReplyDeleteStill singing, and still looking pretty damn good. She's been in the audience each time I've seen Marilyn, and Julie is always in a crisp black pantsuit and a fabulous hat.
ReplyDelete