Carrolling, Carrolling

For all of her remarkable success, showbiz icon Diahann Carroll doesn’t have much in the way of signature songs. She did introduce “A Sleepin’ Bee” in House of Flowers on Broadway, and she won a Tony Award for Richard Rodgers’s No Strings, so she has “The Sweetest Sounds” to her credit. But the world mostly remembers her for her historic TV tenure as the title character in Julia, which broke the color barrier on network television in 1968. (For those of you too young to recall this, we’re not talking about color television; we’re talking about racism).

Nonetheless, with the help of director Stuart Ross, Carroll has put together a compelling and satisfying nightclub act that she’s now performing at Feinstein’s at the Regency. Her patter is living history and is entirely fascinating; when she talks about Frank Sinatra et al., you really listen up because you know she’s of that era. More to the point, she’s a fierce belter from way back and impressively remains so even though she’s now 70. (In truth, she looks 20 years younger.)

This is the first time in 40 years that Carroll has done a nightclub act in New York City. Back in the day, you could have caught her at the Latin Quarter; in fact, she mentions during her show that she once opened for Christine Jorgensen there! (She generously tells us that it was Jorgensen who taught her how to wear makeup and how to bow.) Carroll’s public image is that of someone very sophisticated and ladylike, so it’s a pleasant surprise to discover that she’s a broad; she speaks her mind with a gutsy irreverence and commands the stage with a winning combination of humor and poise. When a waiter walked right in front of her during her entrance, her impromptu response was hilarious. She is, in a word, unflappable.

Her program is a mix of musical theater songs and standards. Among the theater numbers, she sings “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Blvd. (She played Norma Desmond in the Toronto production of the musical.) Carroll is thrilling when she belts, not so much because the notes are so big but because she is so committed; she literally quivers when she finishes songs like “Some of These Days” and “New York, New York.”

The Life and Times of Diahann Carroll will continue at Feinstein’s through April 29. For more information, click here.

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No Problem Here

The distinguishing characteristic of the musical comedy revue What’s Your Problem?, written by Paul L. Johnson (music) and Hector Coris (lyrics), is not that it’s a gay-themed show (although this is indisputable) but, rather, that it’s so consistently entertaining. That’s no small accomplishment when you consider that it contains one solid hour’s worth of original material. There are some clunkers mixed in with the winners, of course, but the general level of quality is very high.

Every number in the show is more or less comedic. Some are up-tempo, some are ballads, but all are intended to make the listener laugh or, at least, offer a wry smile in recognition of some sharp, satific observation. Because there are no(forgive the expression) “straight” numbers — i.e., romantic or dramatic songs — to be found here, one might expect the revue to become thematically redundant. Happily, it avoids that pitfall thanks to the widely varied subject matter covered by the material. For example, one song slyly suggests that “Every Single Girl (Should Have a Home-O),” while another is an exuberant celebration of “Fleet Week.”

Johnson’s music has charm and plenty of bounce; but given the style of these songs, it’s fair to say that they live or die in their lyrics, so we’re happy to report that Coris displays a sassy sense of humor. From the darkly funny “Find It In Your Heart,” about a knife rather than love, to the rousing “In Heaven (They Sing Nothing But Showtunes),” the lyrics are playful and consistently amusing.

What’s Your Problem? features a cast of three solid performers. Coris is one of them, and he’s particularly adept at putting over his own material. Eric Martin brings an easy, unforced style to the comedy, while Suzanne Adams provides plenty of brass and belt; she does an especially terrific job of delivering one of the revue’s best numbers, “Lowering My Standards.” Collette Black’s no-nonsense direction of all this delightful nonsense keeps the show moving at a quick and pleasing pace.

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[To contact Barbara & Scott Siegel directly, e-mail them at siegels@theatermania.com.]