Heather Mac Rae

HEATHER MAC RAE at HELEN’S Fri. Oct 15, 2004

In her recent SRO one-nighter at the Hideaway Room @ Helen’s, Heather Mac Rae showed why she is so in demand as a soloist. She has mastered the art of nightclub entertainment and is at the top of her game. With brilliant musical director David Lewis at the piano, Mac Rae had a ball on stage. She thoroughly captivated the room, both with her songs and with familial and showbiz anecdotes about the good old days (her parents are well-known nightclub entertainer Sheila MacRae and the late Gordon MacRae, most famous as Curly in the film version of “Oklahoma!”), all told with great ease and a contagious laugh. In an hour that was nothing but highlights (including a solo by kid brother Bruce MacRae), she gave a remarkable interpretation of “What More Can I Say?” from “Falsettos” (Finn), in which she co-starred on Broadway, and a raucous “Pass That Peace Pipe” from the 1947 Oscar-nominated flick “Good News.” An alumna of Broadway’s “Hair” (she replaced Diane Keaton), she raised the rafters with “Easy to Be Hard” (Ragni-Rado-MacDermot). Let’s hope this terrific lady returns soon.

---------John Hoglund

BACKSTAGE Nov 19, 2004