Craig Pomranz: Love Takes Time
Craig Pomranz
Love Takes Time
Café Noctambulo, NYC, July 15, 2015
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
Photo: Richard Termine
for The New York Times
Café Noctambulo’s intimate romantic setting is a wonderful venue for Craig Pomranz’s very personal style of performing. The excellent food is served quietly, so as not to disturb the performance. Pomranz’s shows always feature a meticulously selected song list based on a particular theme. Love Takes Time featured 18 quite diverse songs by writers ranging from Albert Von Tilzer and Irving Berlin to Cyndi Lauper and Stevie Wonder, all on the subject of time. This diversity allowed Pomranz to show off his many different voices, ranging from falsetto to a bold, masculine sound. The always-affable singer frequently intersperses amusing and often very comical comments between numbers.
Pomranz opened using his falsetto on Lauper and Rob Hyman’s “Time After Time.” He later performed the Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen song with the same title, which included the seldom-heard verse. He beautifully blended the lovely “Dinner at Eight” with “About a Quarter to Nine.” The medley of “Ten Minutes Ago” and “My Cutie’s Due At Two-to-Two Today” ended with him showing off his belting chops. “Ten Good Years,” usually performed by a female, was especially amusing and still relevant with Pomranz’s updated lyrics. He was able to shift gears and movingly perform a poignant medley of “Time Heals Everything” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Loving You,” which concluded by returning to the Jerry Herman song for a big finish. Pomranz closed with a flourish by again using his strong voice for “As Time Goes By.” The two encores were “I’ll Remember April” and a heartfelt “Too Shy to Say.”
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews
