Marta Sanders: Follow Me

Marta Sanders

Follow Me

Laurie Beechman Theatre, NYC, February 2, 2017

Reviewed  by Peter Haas for Cabaret Scenes

There was merriment, mirth and marvelous music flowing within the Laurie Beechman Theatre as Marta Sanders took to the stage for four evenings of delightful songs and stories in her newest show, Follow Me.

With John McMahon at the piano and serving as musical arranger, Sanders—a MAC and Bistro Award  winner—offered  a valentine to travel as she took her audience on a grand tour of her twin passions: New York City and the rest of the world.

Glamorous in now-snow-white hair and a simple, elegant gown, she mounted the stage and, inviting the audience to take a voyage-in-song with her, opened with a medley of “Follow Me” (Lerner  and Loewe), “Gotta Move” (Peter Matz) and “Gypsy in My Soul” (Clay Boland/Moe Jaffe). Following through with her theme, Sanders, in rich voice throughout, continued her musical travels—interspersed with tales of her adventures as a professional city tour guide—with such numbers as  “Around  the World” (Victor Young/Harold Adamson), “Come Fly with Me” (Jimmy Van Heusen/Sammy Cahn) and “Two for the Road (Leslie Bricusse/Henry Mancini).

Changes of  pace were the humorous “Hunk on the Bus” (written for Marta by Michael Greer) and John Wallowitch’s comic “Warsaw,” as well as Carol Hall’s powerful, sweet tale, “The Bus from Amarillo.” Sanders ended with a strong performance of Sondheim’s “I’m Still Here,” to affectionate and strong applause.

Added credits for the professionalism of the show go to co-directors Mark Nadler and Debra Zalkind.

Tags: American Songbook, Around the World, Bistro Award, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, Carol Hall, CD, Clay Boland, Clubs, Come Fly with Me, Composers, Debra Zalkind, Follow Me, Gotta Move, Great American Songbook, Gypsy in My Soul, Harold Adamson, Henry Mancini, Hunk on the Bus, I’m Still Here, Jazz, Jazz Singers, Jazz Vocalists, Jimmy Van Heusen, John McMahon, John Wallowitch, Laurie Beechman Theatre, Lerner and Loewe, Leslie Bricusse, lyricists, MAC Award, Mark Nadler, Marta Sanders, Michael Greer, Moe Jaffe, Musicals, Musicians, New York City, Nightclubs, NYC, Peter Haas, Peter Matz, Popular Song, Revues, Sammy Cahn, Show Tunes, Singers, Sondheim, Songbook, Standards, Supper Clubs, The Bus from Amarillo, Two for the Road, Venues, Victor Young, Vocalists, Warsaw

Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional