Karen Mason

Michael Miyazaki | November 17, 2015

Karen Mason

Millennium Stage/The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., November 12, 2015

Reviewed by Michael Miyazaki for Cabaret Scenes

In her concert for the Millennium Stage, Karen Mason transformed the cavernous atrium of the Kennedy Center, one of the largest indoor spaces in Washington, into an intimate cabaret venue.

The set, composed mostly of standards from theater and film, started with an edgy take on “Something’s Coming” and a sprightly “Almost Like Being in Love.” Highlights included an uproarious “Murder, He Says,” a romantic reading of The Beatles’ “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You,” and a moving version of the Barry Kleinbort/Joseph Thalken “Time.” The set ended with the intense medley of “Help!” and “Being Alive” followed by a tender “Over the Rainbow.”

Introducing Mason, Michael Kerker of ASCAP summed up her work when he stated, “She takes the composer’s music and the songwriter’s words and gives them heft, weight, and true heartfelt emotion.” Director Kleinbort structured the show with great flow and refreshingly let many of the songs go from one to the next with no patter in between. A consistent treat of Mason’s work is to hear her couture musical arrangements by the likes of Brian Lasser and current Musical Director Christopher Denny, who provided seamless support for the concert.

One of the biggest bonuses of this show for cabaret fans is that it was recorded and is available on the Kennedy Center site at http://www.kennedy-center.org/video/index/M6541/

Tags: Almost Like Being in Love, American Songbook, ASCAP, Barry Kleinbort, Being Alive, Brian Lasser, Broadway Musicals, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, Christopher Denny, Clubs, Composers, Great American Songbook, Help, I’m Happy Just to Dance with You, Joseph Thalken, Karen Mason, lyricists, Michael Kerker, Michael Miyazaki, Millennium Stage, Murder He Says, Musicals, Nightclubs, Over the Rainbow, Popular Song, Revues, Show Tunes, Singers, Something’s Coming, Songbook, Standards, Supper Clubs, The Beatles, The Kennedy Center, Time, Venues, Vocalists, Washington D.C.