Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . .
At Pangea last month, Barbara Bleier, Austin Pendleton, Gretchen Cryer and Richard Malby, Jr. converged on this intimate venue to reprise their popular Old Friends cabaret show. This writer last saw Bleier and Pendleton back in 2021 (read HERE). These very accomplished individuals, with enough credits to fill a book, are very old friends indeed. Cryer and Maltby first worked together at Yale in 1959, when she starred in a production there with music composed by the team of Maltby and Shire. These performers have worked together many times over the past 65 years, with Pendleton starring in several of Cryer’s shows with Nancy Ford.
The sole accompaniment for Old Friends was pianist and music director Paul Greenwood. The set list consists almost entirely of songs from shows for which Maltby (with music by David Shire) and Cryer (with music by Nancy Ford) wrote their lyrics. Maltby and Shire provided the music for many shows, including The Sap of Life, Baby, and Closer Than Ever. Cryer and Ford’s show catalog includes I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On The Road and its sequel, The Last Sweet Days of Isaac, and Einstein and the Roosevelts.
The evening opened with the ensemble sharing “Spring Cleaning” (Maltby/Shire, from the show of the same name). From the outset, it felt as if you were invited to a swell, private party of show biz veterans, where your famous and talented friends tell stories in music and song.
On “Old Friend” (Cryer/Ford, from Getting My Act Together), Cryer and Pendleton each took lines in a kind of musical conversation that brought you right into their relationship. “There” is a marvelous, funny song that utilized Bleier and Pendleton’s excellent timing, as they finished each other’s sentences musically.
Maltby and Pendleton performed the very cute “Love of Your Life” (Maltby/Shire, from The Sap of Life), first relaying the back story of two brothers who go off to the big city to sow their wild oats, only to fall in love. Both men are fine storytellers, and Maltby is a surprisingly good singer, with a voice much younger than his years.
Bleier delivered a poignant “God of War” (Andrea McBroom/Michelle Brourman), with her warm voice and fine acting.
Maltby’s father, Richard Maltby, Sr., was a noted musician and bandleader. Maltby credited his father with instilling music in him, and wrote the powerful elegiac song, “If I Sing,” for Closer than Ever, to honor his father. He moved this reviewer to tears. “If I sing, you are the music.”
Cryer’s “My Most Important Moment” (Cryer/Ford) is a very humorous song about two people stuck in an elevator, convinced they would die there. Cryer performed this with pianist Paul Greenwood taking the part originated by Austin Pendleton in The Last Sweet Days of Isaac. Greenwood has an appealing voice. Cryer’s comedic delivery was an effective contrast to his sweetness.
Pendleton returned with some fine storytelling in “Too Many Women” (Cryer/Ford), from their 1973 show, Shelter, which has the protagonist singing to a computer (in the days before PCs). Pendleton showed great comedy chops here.
Cryer and Bleier performed “It Ain’t Over,” also from the Getting My Act Together sequel. This wryly funny song “makes wisdom sexy,” Cryer explained, singing, “If you’re looking for a granny, no way.”
To close the show, a pair of smart songs had Maltby and Pendleton vying for Bleier’s affection. Bleier and Maltby made a tender couple on the list song, “What If We Had Loved Like That?” (Maltby/Shire, from Baby), while Pendleton made his play in “Old Love” (McBroom/Brourman). The four old friends reconvened for an encore with Sondheim’s “Old Friends.”
Old Friends makes for a warm and fuzzy evening of cabaret that will leave you smiling. Here’s hoping it makes another appearance.
Old Friends took place on February 27 at Pangea (178 Second Avenue, between East 11th and 12th Streets). www.pangeanyc.com
Photos courtesy of Wendy Sternberg except where indicated
