By William Wolf
MARCOVICCI SINGS RODGERS AND HART
In her latest show at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel cabaret diva Andrea Marcovicci says that her favorite of all the popular composers is the team of Rodgers and Hart. She then proceeds to delightfully show why with a generous program of tunes encompassing some of the best from an assortment of the shows the pair brought to Broadway.
An evening spent with Marcovicci isn’t only an evening of song. She researches her material carefully, and as those who have already enjoyed other Marcovicci performances well know, she turns her act into an educational journey filled with fascinating information about the composers whose works she interprets and the circumstances of the various numbers. It makes for an informative as well as thoroughly entertaining experience. Her current visit is a dynamic case in point.
We learn about how Rodgers and Hart met, and how they immediately clicked. She tells us of Hart’s tendency toward depression. She also digs into lesser known songs as well as personalizes the better known ones. The list is impressive, including “Where Or When” from “Babes in Arms”(1937); “Jupiter Forbid” and “Everything I Got Belongs to You” from “By Jupiter”(1942); “A Little Birdie Told Me So” from “Peggy-Ann’ (1926); “He Was Too Good To Me” (cut from "Simple Simon” (1930); “This Can’t Be Love” from “The Boys from Syracuse” (1938); “To keep My Love Alive” from “A Connecticut Yankee” (1943 revival) and many more.
The theme of her show is cued to her new CD, “Andrea Marcovicci Sings Rodgers & Hart.” Marcovicci may be bouncy one moment, mellow the next, mischievous with another tune, moody or classical, running a gamut of style and emotion.
Although Marcovicci in the past has been in better voice—time marches on-- her forte has always been the zest and charm with which she wows an audience and lights up a room with her ability to entertain and relate to the crowd. Her high style is every bit in evidence in her new show. She’s booked for a long stretch, November 13, 2007-January 12, 2008, which will give her fans a sizable opportunity to renew acquaintance and the chance for her to make new ones. At the Oak Room of the Algonquin,
