Copy Editor Joe Westerfield has been putting on his top hat and steppin’ out. Here’’s his report:
In “Speaking of Dreams,” Maude Maggart’s excellent new show at the Oak Room—that perfect setting for cabaret singers in New York’s Algonquin Hotel—Ms. Maggart, who usually mines some of the more obscure nooks and crannies of Tin Pan Alley for her work, adds a some more-recently composed songs to her repertoire.
The show’s theme is the connections between dreams and love. But this isn’t just a girlie-girl show—due in no small part to the heat Ms. Maggart brings to the more romantic songs. Cabaret doesn’t usually get this hot.
That added dimension comes though whether she sings “Isn’t It Romantic”—and making everyone forget the dozens of times we’ve heard it in films—or songs more often associated with Joan Baez, Cass Elliot and Helen Forrest.
Ms. Maggart doesn’t try to evoke Judy Garland with “Over the Rainbow,” and the results are excellent. She sings about rainbows in two other songs “Look to the Rainbow” (Finian’s Rainbow) and “The Rainbow Connection,” and while I’ll never forget Kermit’s rendition of the latter in The Muppet Movie, Ms. Maggart does manage to hold her own against the velvet frog.
She deftly handles the acrobatics of Stephen Sondheim’s “On the Steps of the Palace” from Into the Woods and follows that with perhaps the biggest surprise—and my favorite song of the evening—“Lost in Wonderland.” With lyrics by Marshall Barer, the song is, as Ms. Maggart points out, like an acid trip set to Brazilian music. It is unlike anything I’ve heard her sing before. She has always been able to deliver any standard from the American songbook, but this was a nice breezy trip down a rabbit hole that I didn’t want to leave. It is the highest light in a show filled with highlights.
In all of these songs, she is ably accompanied by John Boswell on piano and Yair Evnine on guitar and cello.
“Speaking of Dreams” wraps up with an audience sing-a-long of “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” composed in the 1930s and popularized by Cass Elliot in the 1960s. The audience’s talent aside, it was the perfect sendoff to a show that invites superlatives.
(“Speaking of Dreams” runs through May 10.)
(Photo: Monique Carboni)
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Comments on this entry:
Your report on Maud Maggart,s performance spiked my interest. Does she have a CD out? I'm always interested in a new voice that does not come out of the "Idol" show. Maybe a name change would help.
Stew Eisele
Your review makes me want to see/hear her. If she is as sexual as she looks and you say she is, she adds another dimension to cabaret.
Anything else written about her in your mag?
This was most interesting. I'd never of Maude Maggart although I certainly know the work of Andrea Marcovicci, Karen Akers (and Elaine Stritch, Julie Wilson and Billy Roy, and the incomparable Barbara Cook).
Has musch been written about her? Joe Westerfield makes her a must-hear. Tell me more.
Beatrice Williams-Rude
Thanks for bringing her to our attention. It's always nice to discover a new crooner of the standards. I see that she has 4 CD's for sale on Amazon.com (3 are still in stock). So you can hear samples of her singing on that site and others that sell her CDs. Also check out the write-ups on her Web site, maudemaggart.com .
P.S.: You article doesn't mention it, but Maude Maggart's sister is herself a well known singer - Fiona Apple.
Ah well, even on the Internet, space limitations apply. Yes, Fiona is her sister, and during the show Maude talks about Fiona and the rest of her performing family. Her parents met while performing on Broadway in Applause--the musical version of All About Eve. And her grandparents toured with big bands. She says they had seven happy years together--unfortunately the marriage lasted 10.
Another thing I didn't get in was how funny and informative Maude's banter between songs is.
If cabaret makes a comeback--or, depending on your perspective, continues as an art form--it will be due in no small way to Maude.
Oh yes, after the show she told me she had a Playboy connection. Stay tuned.