By Andrew Poretz . . .
Maureen Taylor is a classically trained performer who has successfully moved from the world of opera to that of cabaret, where she adapted a more intimate singing style. A masterful storyteller, Ms. Taylor is something of a New Age sorcerer, displaying a talent for numerology and psychic readings. She is a firm believer in the kind of cosmic connections that means seeming coincidences happen for a reason, particularly those that have connected her with author and lyricist Michael Colby. A certified Reiki master, the singer performed a unique autobiographical performance of songs interspersed with stories, often mid-song, using the works of various composers with one common thread: nearly all of them had lyrics by Michael Colby. Ms. Taylor sang all or part of 19 songs with his lyrics along with several non-Colby songs that helped shape the narrative, whether sung by the artist or played by pianist Seth Weinstein. Mr. Colby, who was present, is the author of “The Algonquin Kid” and is the librettist/lyricist for such musicals as “Charlotte Sweet” and “Tales of Tinseltown,” with dozens of lyrics among his long list of credits. The show was first presented at Don’t Tell Mama in 2019.
The show, performed to a capacity crowd, was also a CD release event for her album, “Maureen Taylor: Cosmic Connections — The Lyrics of Michael Colby,” the first release for the newly formed Brainstorm Records. Ms. Taylor appeared wearing a blue blazer over a black outfit, and sporting a large G-clef pin on her lapel. The slim, attractive singer has salt-and-pepper hair, which gives her a regal countenance. She has an old-fashioned singing voice, almost like someone in a 1940s movie.
Ms. Taylor opened with “More Than Meets the Eye” (from Dangerous with John C. Introcaso), a title that alludes to the nearly magical “coincidences” that brought her to this partnership with Michael Colby. Here, she told of a “story song boy meets a story-song girl” with well-rehearsed patter. She is funny and playful, and is an excellent actor with impeccable diction that will leave no one wondering what was spoken.
The singer showed off her penchant for the occult by performing a numerology trick with several audience members, who presumably were not plants. Ms. Taylor’s psychic skills certainly made for something of a supernatural aura. Songs like “How Do You Make Magic” (from Mrs. McThing, with Jack Urbont) referenced magic and the supernatural, and a backdrop (with song titles and composer names) on the Don’t Tell Mama screen was a photo of the cosmos.
Michael Colby’s lyrics seemed to write the soundtrack of Ms. Taylor’s life in her 20’s, she asserted, before singing “My Song” (with Peter Millrose), the lyrics of which inspired the show’s premise. The verse says it all:
“Anywhere there’s music I come alive.
My love affair is music, my dream, my drive.
What could be more enticing than when musicians start ‘Strike up the Band’
and I sing what’s on my mind, what’s in my heart.”
In “Keep it Low” (from Charlotte Sweet, with Gerald Jay Markoe), Ms. Taylor showed off her lyric mezzo range with an impressive final note that cascaded down from high to low. For the non-Colby song “Applause” from the musical of the same name, she quoted Lauren Bacall’s motto: “As long as I’m breathing, I might as well experience everything.”
“What happens at the Algonquin stays at the Algonquin!”, Ms. Taylor exclaimed. Michael Colby’s connection with the famed Algonquin Hotel, where he lived for many years — his grandparents owned the hotel from 1946 until 1987 and restored it to its glory — was the subject of his memoir, The Algonquin Kid. “Slumming” is a delicious, gossipy story song with references to the legendary hotel and its celebrated residents, like Noel Coward. She sings the line “I’m going slumming now” in a 1920s vocal style, with a bluesy jazz feel.
Ms. Taylor brought Michael Colby to the stage to acknowledge him. Mr. Colby, who looked a little peaked, joked, “Forgive me, I’ve been through eight days of yeast deprivation,” Passover having just ended the previous evening. He gave a funny and humble speech.
Maureen Taylor presents a compelling and entertaining cabaret experience. Her storytelling ability is unsurpassed, her timing perfect, and is a very good singer with a warm, confident presence. It was certainly a revelation to experience the breadth of Michael Colby’s catalog of sophisticated, sometimes whimsical lyric writing and the diverse range of talented composers he wrote with. It’s about time that someone made a show of them! There will be an encore performance of Cosmic Connections on May 4 at 7 p.m.
Musical director/pianist: Seth Weinstein
Photos: Michael Stever
343 West 46th Street, NYC
