Robin’s Nest
Robin’s Nest
Laurie Beechman Theatre, NYC, June 2, 2015
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
Robin’s Nest is a show presented every three months at the Laurie Beechman Theatre to benefit the organization Helpusadopt.org. Hosted by Robin Westle (pictured), herself the mother of two adopted children, the show combines entertainment with moving human-interest stories by adoptees and adoptive parents. The carefully thought-out collection of songs all dealt in some sense with children.
Westle opened the entertainment portion of the show by singing the not-often-heard lyric to “Robbins’ Nest.” Approved adoptive parents Stephen Mitchell Brown and Leah Jennings beautifully performed “Our Children.” Raissa Katona Bennett’s voice blended beautifully with clarinetist Jonathan Kantor on “Stiff Upper Lip,” followed by a number from the upcoming production of Devil and the Deep, a musical version of Treasure Island, in which she’s been cast. The most memorably moving portion of the show was Bulgarian-born fine artist Gero Easton’s display of a 7’ x 12’ painting depicting the moment his adoptive mother first held him in her arms. Eric Michael Gillett did a delightful reading of the children’s book A Mother for Choco, that led into his singing “Family.” The entertainment highlight of the evening was Karen Akers’s performance of five songs, beginning with “Wonderful Baby,” an exquisitely performed “Russian Lullabye” and ending with “Baby Mine” from the film Dumbo.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews
