Roz White and Friends
Roz White and Friends
MetroStage, Alexandria, Virginia, August 15, 2015
Reviewed by Michael Miyazaki for Cabaret Scenes
Roz White opened her MetroStage show with a searing version of the Dreamgirls song “One Night Only.” After explaining that Dreamgirls was her introduction to performing, she took the audience on an entertaining tour of her other roles and influences.
She got off to a strong start with a mini-set devoted to Pearl Bailey, including a sassy “Personality,” a knowing “Frankie and Johnny,” and a triumphant “If My Friends Could See Me Now.” Other highlights of the evening included a tender lullaby from the show Three Sistahs, a poignant take on the Billie Holiday classic, “Billie’s Blues,” and a raucous closer of “Down Home Blues.”
White is a gracious, genial hostess who made the entire audience feel that they were the “friends” in the show’s title. She has a stylistic flexibility that allows her to succeed with a variety of material, and she manages to portray a variety of characters and styles while maintaining a core presence that keeps the evening from seeming schizophrenic.
White and Musical Director William Knowles deserve credit for creating a seamless evening with effective use of underscoring to create effortless-seeming transitions from patter into song. Ron Oshima on sax and David Cole on guitar contributed to moods from soul searching to barn burning. Guest artist Yvette Spears contributed to the charm of the evening with an upbeat version of “I’ve Gotta Be Me.”
Category: Cabaret Reviews, DC/Maryland/Virginia, DC/Maryland/Virginia Cabaret Reviews, Regional
