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In the last twenty years of cabaret, and even in the fifteen or twenty years previous to the beginning of this reviewer's writing career, actresses best known for television who simply wished to storm New York with what they believe is the most perfect club act of all time, have never been a rarity. There was Cybill Shepherd at the Cookery in 1978, Phylicia Rashad in 1995 at Rainbow and Stars and a steady stream of others, all of whom had varying degrees of success which depended solely on whether or not they truly had the stuff to make it work.
For some reason, actresses from daytime dramas had even better success with this phenomenon, including Grace Garland, Shelly Burch, Kaitlin Hopkins, Candice Earley, Pat Dixon and Eileen Fulton, not to mention the late, great Dixie Carter, who was gracing the airwaves on "The Edge of Night" in the mid-1970s as Brandy Henderson before setting New York on its ear at the Cafe Carlyle, or even as Julia Sugarbaker on "Designing Women."
One of the very few to transverse this phenomenon is Deborah Tranelli, who came away from eleven seasons of "Dallas" in the role of Bobby Ewing's secretary Phyllis, and made an indelible mark as one of the finest talents in the history of the genre that continues to this day both on stage and in recordings. This writer simply must report that joining their ranks as a champion in the arena, as well as possible cabaret history, is most certainly the incredible Emily Bergl, who mainstream television audiences will recognize for her work on such series as "Men in Trees" and "Southland," and in her upcoming appearances as Beth Young on "Desperate Housewives." In this, her very first cabaret outing, entitled Kidding on the Square, it may not be such a surprise that Bergl proves so adept with comedy, but that she is completely outstanding in her work as a vocalist. More than that, it is her inherent comfort with both sides of that coin that projects such abject joy, especially her own.
Aided angelically by G. Scott Lacy on the piano and occasional backup vocals, Bergl announces the evening as "good old-fashioned entertainment," and while this might mean not quite so much in the hands of a lesser and untried artist, what the lady puts forth in the form of familiar material and the Great American Songbook, as well as international hits, is simply impossible to trump. From the opening strains of Noel Coward's "Mad About The Boy," we are hooked, and she only goes on to slay us further as with a singularly brilliant "Ten Cents a Dance," delivered with New York accent and containing a perfect cabaret nuance of communication. She likewise knocks it out of the park with "Something Cool," delivered more like a sophisticated version of Lesley-Anne Warren as Norma Cassady in Victor/Victoria, and by the time she renders Roy Orbison's "Crying," she's reeled us in hook, line and inestimable sinker.
In this modern age of the musical "mashup," as delivered so brilliantly as of late by such champions of cabaret as Sharron Matthews and Jane Burbank, by taking pop standards and putting them together in medley coupling, Bergl proves a formidable challenger by mixing "Taken Over by the Fear" with Madonna's "Material Girl." She also throws a delicious dash of comic internationalism into the evening with the French-flavored "Apres Je Fume," and the German (Yiddish, actually, but who's counting?) "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen." (Or "schuen," as she so strictly instructs us during a group song-along). By evening's end, after she blows us all to emotional smithereens with "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye" (which was recorded by the Boswell Sisters), "Dream A Little Dream of Me" (first recorded by Ozzie Nelson and later made famous by Cass Elliott of The Mamas & The Papas) is merely a rich dessert on which we all have the privilege to snack, long after we leave Metropolitan Room.
It's never too early to begin making book on who the biggest players will be when the cabaret season formally begins this autumn. Emily Bergl will most certainly be among that group, and she's worked for it like nobody's business. By all means, PLEASE make it a point to catch her before Hollywood whisks her away to further stardom and the chance is gone forever.
Emily Bergl has 3 more performances at Metropolitan Room - Saturday, August 28 at 7pm, Monday, August 30 at 9:30pm and Tuesday, August 31 at 7pm. Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22 Street. For reservations, call (212)206-0440. www.metropolitanroom.com
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