By Sandi Durell . . .
Younger than Springtime is she . . . is there anything that Marvelous Marilyn Maye can’t do? The answer is obviously – NO! She puts us all to task trying to keep up with her vitality, powerhouse delivery and tongue-in-cheek humor – a force of nature! So this is 94!
Her opening medley (we know how she loves medleys) was a devotion to the songs written by Cole Porter and enough to satisfy all aficionados of the American Songbook – – – “Looking At You,” “I Concentrate on You,”I “It’s All Right With Me,” “Just One of Those Things,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”… to name a few. At this point, it was obvious, she was loose as a goose and in rare form. She is the epitome of Positivity as she notes all the bad stuff going on around us.
Ms. Maye is a take charge woman who knows just what she wants and how to get it from her brilliant musicians as they morph and meld together song after song. Tedd Firth Musical Director/Pianist, Tom Hubbard on bass and Mark McLean on drums.
We love her chatty and humorous disposition of sharing as she talks about getting thru two years of the pandemic. But at this point . . . it’s enough and she doesn’t want to hear “No Bad News” because this lady has “(I’ve Got) The World On a String” and always seeks to “Accentuate the Positive.”
A suggestion by her ace photographer Kevin Alvey to sing “When The World Was Young” (Johnny Mercer, Philippe-Gérard and Angèle Vannier) offered an astute observation with a unique interpretation followed by “Free and Easy” another Mercer treasure (from one of Ms. Maye’s favorite songwriters).
A highlight was her funky version of “Get Yourself A Rich Man” (and she wasn’t kidding) as she blended “If I Were (Had) a Rich Man” from Fiddler.
Only Marilyn Maye can make you feel like you (the audience) are her nearest and dearest best friends and she’s telling you her inner most secrets . . . and what fun it is to be taken into her confidence because one of her endearing qualities is sharing.
From favorite “Golden Rainbow” to “I’m Still Here,” there was no stopping Marilyn Maye on her 94th as she went for the gold ending most songs full steam ahead, with powerful belts that had the audience whooping, standing and applauding non-stop, especially when she kicked it up big time on “It’s Today.” It’s a party all right and one we all want to attend!
See if you can snag a reservation at Feinstein’s/54 Below as Marilyn Maye will be there for you thru April 16@ 7 pm ( 8 pm on April 10 as well as in Livestream). Tickets HERE. And . . . she’ll be back at 54 Below in October!!
Photos: Kevin Alvey
Video Clip: Magda Katz
