| . | 04/20/2008
Maude Maggart: “Speaking of Dreams”
By: John Hoglund
Maude Maggart
By the the time Maude Maggart gets around to singing “I'll Buy That Dream” (Allie Wrubel-Herb Magdison) in medley with “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” (Mack David, Al Hoffman & Jerry Livingston,) in her new show, “Speaking of Dreams,” at The Oak Room at The Algonquin, you know she is the stuff that cabaret dreams are made of.
The beautiful young thrush, dressed in a Vera Wang dress, has put together her most personalized show to date. Singing songs that she connects with on every level, she has mastered the art of intimate conversation in a boite with ease. Her cottony soprano recalls Jeannette MacDonald with echoes of the young Judy Garland. Too, her phrasing is curtly emphatic with every word given a purposeful intention that fills the room with an incandescence that is as illuminating as it is endearing. In short, this is a wonderful show by one who actually lives up to all the hype she's received since her cabaret debut a few short years ago.
Accompanied to perfection at her opening by John Boswell on piano with Yair Evnine on cello and guitar, the show follows a loose throughline about dreams and rainbows. It is deceiving in its simplicity. But underpinning it all is a high level of sophistication that few on today's club scene can carry off with such aplomb. A lush reading of “Isn't It Romantic?” (Richard Rodgers – Lorenz Hart,) is wistful and haunting without losing the original intent of a light hearted romance. Throughout her show, the emotional cross currents in her delivery and uncomplicated, yet intelligent, patter are intriguing. And the enrapt audience responds in kind.
A heartfelt “My Father” by Judy Collins that lithely fuses into “Speaking of Dreams” by Joan Baez, belies her youth. These singer/composers are from the folk generation of the 1960's. This warm pairing of bucolic story songs is engaging as Maggart has a true gift for breathing new life into many evergreens such as the familiar “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen – Yip Harburg.) She also shows a playful side with the demanding “On the Steps of the Palace” (Stephen Sondheim.) More humor balances the show as she recalls her old friend the late songwriter Marshall Barer when she was quite young. Her tales of the eccentricities of Barer's home in California and their last visit are a mix of sentiment and silliness. She easily finds the subtle humor in his “Here Come the Dreamers.” A ditty called “Lost In Wonderland” by Barer with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim, is bizarrely whimsical.
In lesser hands, this show of dreams, rainbows and fantasies might fall short. With Maude Maggart, a blatant California dreamer, it all meshes the sophistication of an urban sophisticate from Manhattan while remaining that little girl who looks to the rainbow.
Musical director Lanny Meyers replaced Mr. Boswell as of April 15.
Maude Maggart is appearing at The Oak room at The Algonquin through May 10.
The Algonquin Hotel is located at 55 West 44th Street.
Reservations: (212) 840 6800
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