Karen Mason: Kander and Ebb…And All That Jazz!
Karen Mason was incandescent last night. I’m sorry you missed it. It’s as if she’s come out of a chrysalis (and she was great going in) more vibrant than ever. The marvelous work of John Kander and Fred Ebb (42 years, 16 musicals, three Tony Awards) fits like a bespoke suit. Speaking of early professional days she said, “Here were two people writing just for me, the loud, middle child.” (‘Not to mention nuance and attitude) Every artistic muscle flexed, the performer delivered in spades.
She began, of course, with “All That Jazz” (Chicago) slowly rotating, flirting with the audience, making material her own. “Wilkommen” (Cabaret) and “Life of the Party” (The Happy Time) followed narratively, neatly transitioning with a playful “bum, bum, bum, bum” conversation between bass (Ritt Henn) and vocal. The last note circled, then tied a bow.
John Kander and Fred Ebb met in 1962. Mason told the story of their first collaboration “My Coloring Book.” Both hands cradling the microphone, her rendition was as understated as cotton lace – delicate, not insubstantial. “Maybe This Time (I’ll Be Lucky),” then emerged first a capella with Chris Denny’s stroked piano. Both songs intended for Kaye Ballard landed elsewhere.
“Fred was facile with wit and words, John wrote these magnificent melodies and some really great vamps.” So true. We heard vamps from Cabaret, Chicago, Zorba, and the iconic New York, New York. The latter expanded into song, flush with hope. Left hand fisted, extended, fingers splay. An organic segue to “All I Need is One Good Break” (Flora, the Red Menace) practically sent up a flare.
Barry Kleinbort’s direction was terrific. Mason took in the room, volubly sharing. Gestures were selective and emphatic. With few apt exceptions, her body never quite stopped moving as if on the verge of dancing. Much to our delight, a few infectious steps here and there escaped. Nor did the artist shut us out with all too frequent closed eyes.
“Colored Lights” (The Rink) arrived persuasive, moving. Lyrics of misremembering worked beautifully. Conjuring radiance made her palpably giddy. Here’s the storyteller, the actress. Perched on a stool, “Go Back Home” (The Scottsboro Boys, a worthy, undervalued musical more vocalists should mine) was raw, careworn. Controlled vibrato never frayed, even when dramatically quiet.
A tandem “Married” and “Sorry I Asked” (Cabaret) were deftly entwined. Chris Denny’s arrangements buoy, connect, subtly embroider. “Somebody wonderful married me,” Mason sang glancing at her wedding ring. “Is she pretty?/Or let me put it this way/Do you love her?/Sorry I asked… ” she sang crushed, a catch in her throat, but still standing. A tough scenario to pull off. (She does.) Following trajectory, next came “The World Goes Round” (New York, New York). The artist bent forward as if punched in the stomach, excavated by feeling. A last, higher octave evoked chills.
Lyricist Fred Ebb died in 2004. A beaming John Kander is introduced from the audience. “The music is timeless,” Mason commented. “Chicago has become the longest running American musical on Broadway (26 years). The club Don’t Tell Mama was named for a Kander and Ebb song.”
“Love and Love Alone” (The Visit) – “I didn’t understand when I performed it years ago, but now…” and “A Quiet Thing” (Flora the Red Menace) are just beautiful.
Applause rose to the rafters and hung there. Wowza.
Photos by Maryann Lopinto
Karen Mason: Kander & Ebb…& All That Jazz!
Director Barry Kleinbort
Music Director/Piano – Christopher Denny
Bass – Ritt Henn
Lights and Sound – Rocky Noel
Birdland 315 West 44th Street
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