EDGE Boston, MA

Cabaret Fest in Provincetown

by John Amodeo

EDGE Contributor

Tuesday Apr 26, 2011

For the past four years in early Spring, the Provincetown Business Guild has presented an amazing off-season event called Cabaret Fest. The brainchild of Provincetown-based drummer, band leader, and producer, Bart Weisman, who co-produced the event, Cabaret Fest is an abbondanza of shows stretching from Friday-Sunday, at various venues throughout Ptown that celebrates the art of cabaret performance, and provides a cornucopia of riches for cabaret lovers to feast on for three days straight. And Cabaret Fest 2011, presented April 15-17, 2011 was no exception, providing non-stop top quality entertainment all weekend long.

It was bitterly cold on Commercial Street, but inside, the atmosphere was decidedly cozy and warm, thanks to luminous performers on stage, the hospitality of the venues at The Crown & Anchor and the White Wind Inn, and the conviviality of the audiences themselves, with their cheers and applause. Back-to-back shows from Friday night to Sunday brunch made it easy to take refuge from the chilly ocean gusts, and quickly dispatch any disappointment over the dreary weather. 

Weisman brought together some of the more accomplished cabaret artists from New York, Boston, Cape Cod and Greater New England, such as Dane Vannatter and Brian De Lorenzo both from the Boston area, Provincetown’s Patricia Fitzpatrick, Cape Cod-based Lisa Jason and Tedi Marsh, Lynda D’amour from Andover, and Dana Lorge and Helena Grenot from NYC. Additional singers included Shepley Metcalf, Louis Sacco, Joni Rapp, Elaine St. George, Jeanne Sullivan Evans, Diane Carey, and Terri Givens.

Friday’s variety show

As in past years, the weekend began with a Friday night variety show, showcasing the seven performers who have shows over the course of the weekend, with nine more singers mixed in for added spice. This typically has been a good way to sample or preview what’s to come, and for those who haven’t bought a full weekend pass, it can help one prioritize and plan out the next two days. 

Dane Vannatter, who has been a Cabaret Fest feature artist in past years, served as the MC for this year’s Friday night variety show, with mixed results. Vannatter, the performer, was an absolute knockout in his opening number, "That’s All," as well as in his closing numbers, "My Bed," a soulful R&B number that had him lying across laps in the front rows while he crooned, and his signature song, "Here’s To Life," from which he wrung every bit of heartache and wisdom from Phyllis Molinary’s poetic lyrics. The vocally smooth Vannatter has hit his stride, and established himself as one of Boston’s best cabaret and jazz vocalists: confidant, gutsy, musically intelligent, not afraid to take chances, and witty enough to infuse some welcome adlibbed levity into the proceedings at delightfully unexpected moments. If Vannater the performer was a standout, Vannatter the MC was a bit rusty, being too reliant on notes to introduce performers, though he can be forgiven for that, as the lineup of 16 performers would be daunting to anyone without a teleprompter. 

In this instance quantity was not quality, and the Friday evening show was uneven as a result. Nearly half the performers were novices, whose material and deliveries were no match for the more accomplished in the lineup, and only served to dilute the experience. The show would have been much improved if, rather than have 16 performers sing one song each, reduce the program to the top eight performers, giving them two songs each, allowing them to better display their wares, and establish a rapport with the audience. Still, with one song each, Tedi Marsh, in her duet with Louis Sacco, singing "I’d Give It All For You," from "Songs For A New World," displayed a silky soprano and a comfortable presence, Brian De Lorenzo [full disclosure: De Lorenzo is the writer’s husband] elicited a huge ovation for his delivery of Craig Carnelia’s stirring "Flight," Lisa Jason oozed out a sultry "Come Rain or Come Shine" that she whipped up to a huge belting finish, an irrepressible Dana Lorge had people in hysterics with "The Man You Love Is Gay," sung to the melody of "The Man That Got Away," Lynda D’Amour displayed her liquid gold voice in a clever pairing of "Green Dolphin Street" with an up-tempo "On The Street Where You Live," the brassy Helena Grenot showed how good you can be with a narrow vocal range, delivering the sage "All In Good Time" with worldly conviction, and Pat Fitzpatrick put a lump in everyone’s throat with a poignant "Smile," dedicated to Provincetown’s legendary Miss Ellie, who had passed away the previous week.

Fascinatin’ Marsh

Warmed up from amazing hot chocolate and decadent double chocolate truffles, as well as a fine dinner at Waterfords Inn, we were sufficiently fueled up for the evening treat: Salute to Broadway, featuring Tedi Marsh and Louis Sacco. The show was well structured, containing a nice mix of duets and solos, a balance of familiar and unfamiliar Broadway (and off-Broadway) fare, some with unexpected arrangements. But the show occasionally fell short of its mark, due mostly to Sacco’s sincere but wooden performance, and house pianist Fred Boyle’s lack of experience accompanying singers performing the Broadway songbook. Marsh, however, lit up the stage with nearly all of her songs, showing amazing vocal dexterity, especially with a complicated modulating arrangement of "Fascinatin’ Rhythm" that featured her strong soprano, layered with color, rhythm, and texture. She displayed silky crooning, Lena Horne-style, in "Fun To Be Fooled," great emotion in a soulful "With Me Again," dedicated to her late mom, and deadpan humor and a dynamite belt in "Whatever Happened To My Part" (from Spamalot). Boyle’s backup failed to build behind her big anthems "Fifty Percent," and "This Is The Moment," which I would love to hear her do with a more Broadway-savvy accompanist. I look forward more from this talented performer, who has been hiding in plain sight out on the Cape.

Powerful belt & rapier wit

The truest standout of the entire weekend, however, was Cape Cod’s own Lisa Jason, a firebrand of a performer, who packs a powerful belt, a rapier wit, and a big heart into her petit 5’-2" 100 lb. (soaking wet) frame. Her Sunday Brunch show was packed with 15 gems, each one solidly delivered and set up with stories both humorous and heartfelt. Glammed up in red and gold sequin prom gowns, flounced out with yards of tulle, the envy of Barbie dolls and drag queens world over, it can be hard to take her look seriously, until you realize that even she doesn’t take her look seriously. It is merely a trademark gimmick, one that eventually may be unnecessary when she trusts that her dynamite stage presence, and astounding vocal talent can carry its own. From a riveting and fragile "Where Do You Start," to a belting "Zing! Went The Strings of My Heart," she showed that both lilt and belt are at her command. Her show, a tribute to great ladies of song and stage, included a finger snapping "Fever" (Peggy Lee), a brassy "Downtown" (the Petula Clark hit), and a gorgeous "You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield’s standard) with lush all out bel canto vocals. She knocked "Don’t Rain On My Parade" right out of the park, nearly making you forget Barbra sang it first, and brought people to their feet with a brilliant pairing of "At the Ballet" and "Music and the Mirror" (both from "A Chorus Line"), sung with total abandon and urgency. But her version of Frank Wildhorn’s "Gold" (from "Camille Claudel," recorded by Linda Eder), was sung with such driven emotion, and strident conviction that the audience again leapt to their feet, wiping tears as they cheered. This is another performer we need to see more of.



The weekend was also not without its stalwarts. House musicians for the weekend included Chris Rathbun and Laird Boles on bass, Fred Boyle on piano, and Bart Weisman on drums. Weisman is a consummate musician, and a careful listener when accompanying soloists, whether they are singers or saxophone players. His rhythmic arrangements are always in service to the song and the soloist, providing a shimmering cymbal or a cushioning bass in all the right places. Rathbun and Boles showed with subtle dignity why they are always in demand, with reliable backup, and creative solos that enhanced every song. Boyle, is one of New England’s sharpest jazz pianists, and in spite of his shortfalls with Teri Marsh’s show, he displayed incredible versatility backing up Friday night’s sixteen different singers, all with singular styles, and adding a standout solo in Lisa Jason’s "You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me" mixing jazz and rock with aplomb.

All the performers of the weekend, the Provincetown Business Guild, and most of all Bart Weisman have much to be proud of, and we should only hope this will continue to be an annual tradition in Provincetown.