Barb Jungr: Mad About the Boy & No Regrets
Barb Jungr
Mad About the Boy and No Regrets
54 Below, NYC, January 3, 2015
Reviewed by Peter Haas for Cabaret Scenes
She can be ferocious, she can make you laugh out loud, she can be gentle or move you to cheers. She has transformed herself from an interpreter of folk legends such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen into a dynamic entertainer with an ever- broadening popular repertoire. She is Barb Jungr, who brought in 2015 with a powerhouse evening at 54 Below.
With Tracy Stark as lively pianist and supporting vocalist, and Mike Lunoe on percussions, Barb led her full-house audience through a variety of emotions. Starting with a rousing “Tears in a Bottle,” she moved non-stop through such quiet numbers as “I Saw the Light” (Todd Rundgren), “Tangled Up in Blue” (back to Dylan) and “The Night Before” (Paul McCartney). Her return to more energetic songs brought mixed results. With “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” she tried too hard. She kept interrupting Dylan’s “Lay, Lady, Lay” with gags about the song; ditto for Noel Coward’s “Mad About the Boy.” But her encore, a revival-like “Take Me to the River” – complete with her playing harmonica – whipped the audience into enthusiastic delight. Said one audience member – herself an international cabaret star — “Now, that’s a lady who takes chances!”
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews
