Rosemary Loar:Close Enough for Love

It’s been some time since I’ve seen a show by Rosemary Loar. Both vocals and presence seem to have matured – in a good way. A settled command of the stage and life experience imbue this performance with resonance. Material is often appealingly eclectic. Loar has wrapped this presentation around about M-A-D= Middle-Aged Dating. “I don’t recommend it to anyone.” Her take is darkly droll.

“Before I go on these dates, I have to get ready” prefaces “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” (Harry Woods) alluding, one assumes, to anticipation. It’s jazzy and playful showcasing the vocalist’s ability to slip/slide between notes and improvise interjections. Her nose crinkles, she bounces. “ooo ooo ooo” goes up hill and down dale. Tom Hubbard’s bass is pristine The arrangement unfurls.

Match.com, she tells us, “looks like a catalogue of used body parts. I said to myself, don’t settle for the first person who likes you.” She did, of course. “Bad for Business” (Heather Rigdon) “I oughta be wild and free/But something you’re selling’s got a hold on me…” she sings. The character is a prostitute unwittingly falling for a guy, clearly enjoying it despite herself. She seems weathered, honest, a little surprised.

Heather Rigdon’s undulating samba, “Table for Two” describes the familiar with a new slant. “You seem to get all caught up in the colors/The answers are simply black and white/You don’t want the gray/I don’t want the blues/Let’s meet in the middle at a table for two.” The addition of John DiPietro on excellent accordion adds engaging texture. Vocal arrives mossy, evocative. A great song – to which she’s done justice.

‘Mr. Dreamy’ the one she liked right away, dumped Loar – twice – then, called a third time. She shut him down laughing. “Wake Up Romeo” (Caro Emerald) is a perfect expression of the scenario. The artist’s shoulders and hips move to an infectiously rhythmic arrangement. Overall feel is punk boite. Part is spoken as if shaking her finger at him. Loar is sexy and in control. “Just shut up and love me,” she sings. Painterly accordion is back with sounds that seem like a veritable roster of instruments.

Next she meets a wonderful man who seems simpatico. “But the dial never moves to where he holds my hand. I close my door and sing ‘Show Me’” (Alan Jay Lerner/ Frederick Lowe). It’s a really pretty arrangement. Despite intermittent, moderately raised volume and a high B at the end, emotion is restrained in relation to the lyric. I’d object, but Loar appears so honest, perhaps the lower key approach is her modus operandi. “I guess I’m a little frustrated, right?”

What’s a girl to do? Clean, of course. She discovers her ‘80s cowboy boots. Weak links in the show are a rendition of Lee Hazelwood’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” sung in French and German. Why? And Sting’s “La Belle Dame Sans Regret” sung in French.

A tandem “People Will Say We’re in Love” (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein) and “Something To Talk About” (Shirley Ekhard) begins with a dancy ballad to which jazz tint and Latin feel contribute atmosphere, then segues to response with attitude. Loar is declarative, caustic, convincing.

“I haven’t given up,” she tells us, still believing that with kindness, patience, and courage, holding a space for the relationship will work out. “Close Enough for Love” (Johnny Mandel/ Marilyn & Alan Bergman) makes us wonder whether she’ll settle, however. Perhaps temporarily? One hopes not. We’re on her side. The artist comes across as sympathetic, likeable. “Long goodbyes and tearful looks/Hold up well in poems and in books/But you and I have life to hold/The greatest story never told/Not perfect yet/But close enough for love.” In Loar’s hands, this is something of a torch song. Deft.

Tonight’s encore is a pure jazz baby version of Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up.” Brimming with optimism, it emerges with stop-start finesse and the influence of southern climes.

Arrangements (Ponzio/Loar) all suit the performer to a T. Musicianship is top notch.

Photo by John Quitly 

Rosemary Loar: https://www.rosemaryloar.com/

Rosemary Loar: Close Enough for Love
Directed by Barry Kleinbort
Frank Ponzio-MD/Piano
Tom Hubbard-Bass
John DiPinto- Accordion
A production of Studio A- Metropolitan Zoom