Alice in Birdland

Tony Award winner Linda Lavin returned to her roots as a club singer when she brought her new autobiographical act The Song Remembers When to Birdland on August 29. With the assistance of her director, Jim Caruso, Lavin chose her material with great care, and it showed in the smooth flow of story into song.

Joking about her early career, she noted that all of her jobs were in clubs with titles that included the word “downstairs” and said she was thrilled to finally be working at street level. Many of the songs she sang were also connected to her career, such as “You’ve Got Possibilities” (which she sang in It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman) and “New Girl in Town,” the theme song to her hit sitcom Alice.

The key to her act’s success is her personality. Lavin is refreshingly blunt but she has the gift to make all of her comments funny. There isn’t a great deal of patter in the show, but what’s there is natural and entertaining. Lavin sings like a character actress, which means that she uses her acting chops more than her voice to sell a song. Fortunately, musical director Billy Stritch fills in the gaps with some mighty fine playing, as does the rest of the three piece band.

Beginning September 6, you can catch Lavin for two weeks at San Francisco’s Empire Plush Room. Let’s hope she’ll come back to New York soon.

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Who’s the Ross?

In a cabaret casting coup, jazz singer extraordinaire (and Nightlife Award Jazz Legend) Annie Ross recently began an extended run at Danny’s Skylight Room, where she is entertaining crowds with a well-chosen program of standards plus a smattering of her own jazz hits.

Still gorgeous at a reported 75 years of age, Ross skillfully works within her current vocal limitations. Her singing is often a cross between talking and a sophisticated, syncopated jazz style. Her material is well suited to her voice, so that she can make the most of tunes like “Fun to Be Fooled,” “I Thought About You,” and “One Meatball.” It’s a particular treat to hear her do her biggest hit, “Twisted,” which she co-wrote and which has been covered by everyone from Joni Mitchell to Bette Midler.

It should be noted that Ross changes her program from show to show — because, hey, she’s a jazz singer! For instance, on our visit, she did a knockout version of “Taking a Chance on Love” as her second encore, but that was only because her great musical director Tardo Hammer suggested it to her. And speaking of great musicians, Ross is backed by a fantastic four piece band that features one of New York’s great horn players, Warren Vache — and she uses him to excellent effect. Make sure you catch this legendary lady while you can.

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Park Yourselves in Verona

Judging the new production of Two Gentlemen of Verona on its own terms, one can’t help but be lifted by the sheer exuberance of the show. The creative team that wrote this 1971 musical — Galt MacDermot, John Guare, and Mel Shapiro — did one helluva job in improving Mr. Shakespeare’s play, and it’s clear that director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall’s paramount objective with this revival was to entertain the audience. There is so much fun to be had here that a move from the Delacorte to Broadway, if it occurs, should be applauded by both critics and audiences alike.

This production of Verona is a star-making vehicle for Norm Lewis, who plays Valentine; he dominates the show with his charismatic performance and his booming baritone. The other gent of the title is a disappointment: Oscar Isaac gives Valentine’s shallow pal Proteus an equally shallow performance. He sings with verve but doesn’t always hit the right notes. Rosario Dawson, who’ll soon be coming to a theater near you as Mimi in the film version of Rent, is Julia; she looks stunning but her singing is unimpressive. Back on the plus side, the show gets a big lift from its other leading lady, the sassy Reneé Elise Goldsberry as Silvia.

Mel Johnson, Jr. as the Duke of Milan gets the show’s best number, “Bring All the Boys Back Home,” and Megan Lawrence as Lucetta comes out of nowhere to stop the show. Then there is the exceptionally well-trained dog Buster, who plays the attitudinal canine Crab. He doesn’t sing, but he’s howlingly funny. If this production moves, they should recast Dawson and Issac but keep the dog!

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[To contact the Siegels directly, e-mail them at siegels@theatermania.com.]