| . | 03/10/2008
Euan Morton: “Here and Now” Oak Room at The Algonquin
By: John Hoglund
Photo Credit: Ben Strothmann
At a time when so many cabaret shows are organized around disciplined thematic concepts, it takes courage to buck that trend and call on one's own experiences and favorites as a thread to one's own past, present and future. But Scotland's Euan Morton, who now lives in New York, manages to carry it all off with an amusing and sensitive flare that few performers in a major room would dare. It pays off in spades. The results are sublime and left the audience cheering for more.
Continuing its trend of occasionally blending the old and new at the fabled Oak Room at The Algonquin, young Morton made his debut at the staid cabaret in his new show, “Here And Now.” Blending gentle ballads with fun novelty tunes, he is wonderfully engaging and full of the stuff that dreams are made of.
Having achieved serious recognition playing Boy George in the short-lived Taboo, which only lasted three months and earned him a Tony nomination, Morton has been working steadily since with gigs throughout cabaret, movies and television. And he announced in his show that he has begun rehearsals to play Charlie Chaplin on Broadway in an upcoming vehicle later this year. So his future looks solid. And so is his show at the Oak Room. His tenderly toned tenor effortlessly soars through an hour of well chosen songs with his trio.
 The song list is eclectic and never boring. Particular highlights include heartfelt readings of Noel Coward's “Matelot” sung with perfect phrasing, a dazzling “American Tune,” sung a cappella, by Paul Simon and a trenchant “Ordinary Fool” from “Bugsy Malone” by Paul Williams. An exceptionally well sung “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen was the evening's most effective highlight. In fact, it is so good, it is definitive in its wrenching, heartfelt message of a faded relationship of a song that is a classic from another era.
One of the acid tests for any cabaret performer is how much of their off-stage personality they can bring on stage with them. In the case of Euan Morton, he passes that test with flying colors with his self-effacing wit and sincere banter with his audience. At no time does his show seem contrived or self-congratulatory. And, unlike some performers in major room, he never panders to his audience. This is not a contrite, full of himself lad who rests on his laurels. He immediately puts his audience at ease, communicates with an ongoing sense of fun and makes them feel like they are in his living room and he is entertaining a few friends.
While not a “big” or grand act, Morton makes it all work because he is a sweet guy with a warmth like a simmering hearth with a soft glow. Previous forays in cabaret have found him singing more pop/rock style material (which he also does with aplomb.) For this engagement, he is exposing some of his more vulnerable side with ease and singing his heart out – the quintessential entertainer whose love of entertaining communicates so well that it gives his audience pleasure just to participate in the process. A nod to Karen Carpenter, an early influence of his was well done with a simple “I Can Dream Can't I?” written by Sammy Fain and Irvin Kahal. Euan Morton embraces a room and reveals himself with a sincerity every singer in town can learn from.
Through all this, his expressive and rangy light tenor emotes a beauty that makes others pale in comparison. While, at times, his trio, led by pianist Bryan Reeder, occasionally lacked the luster needed for such a terrific show, Morton shined throughout.
His announcement that he is has been chosen to play “the little tramp” on Broadway in the upcoming Behind the Lamplight, was met with great applause. Whether one's musical taste runs from Boy George to Chaplin, Euan Morton fills the gap with a joi de vrie and genuine heart that is too often missing in today's upscale boites.
Euan Morton appears at The Algonquin through March 29. The Oak Room at The Algonquin is located at 59 West 44th Street. Reservations: (212) 840 6800
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