Yvonne Constant: Et Maintenant
Yvonne Constant
Et Maintenant
Metropolitan Room, NYC, March 10, 2015
Reviewed by Peter Haas for Cabaret Scenes
“Some Brel, some Aznavour, some Weill, some songs in English, too … songs about someone you miss ….” This was the theme for Yvonne Constant’s new show as she returned to the Metropolitan Room in March. The “someone” was her late husband, Mike Lanin, who passed away last year. Yet, far from presenting a sad evening, Constant was in fine, flip form, authentically French from the top of her head to the tips of her dancing toes.
Singing, chatting with the audience and with her talented, supportive musical director Russ Kassoff, she presented a rich mixture of international numbers. Included were a revisit to Bohemian Paris through numbers by Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht, Charles Aznavour and even such modern Americans as Steve Ross with Barry Day. Other favorite numbers included: the show’s title song, as a brief tribute to Lanin, presented with clear-eyed affection; the Jacques Brel “Ne me quitte pas” (Rod McKuen’s version of the lyric, with a running English translation by Kassoff); tales and songs saluting Edith Piaf; and—an audience favorite—the French number that, in English, became a Jimmy Durante favorite as “One of Those Songs.”
Vive La France. And Vive La Constant.
Yvonne returns to the Metropolitan Room Tuesdays April 7 & 14. Both shows at 7 pm.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews
