 Ellen
Greene had already sung her heart out for nearly an hour when
she started to launch into her signature tune, Little Shop of
Horrors' "Suddenly Seymour." As the ever-familiar
chords began, Greene said to the jam-packed audience at the
Public Theater's Joe's Pub, "Sing with me."
The enthusiastic
crowd responded with a rush of emotion and voice that filled
the intimate theatre, gladly giving back to the talented woman
who stood before them. It was an extremely moving moment, just
one of several high points in Greene's exceptional Valentine's
Day concert. As a concert artist, Greene is as good as it gets.
She is touching, honest, funny, quirky, and above all, human.
There are many great voices out there, but few who use them
as bravely as Greene. I don't know much about Greene's personal
life, and she thankfully seems to have found a great love in
her accompanist and musical director Christian Klikovits, but
one gets the sense that she has experienced her share of heartache
and that life experience imbues her singing with great emotion
and makes for compelling theatre. |
Greene's
act, a reprise of her acclaimed Torch! program, featured a mix
of standards ("We Kiss in a Shadow," "Them There
Eyes," "Never Never Land"), theatre songs ("Somewhere
That's Green," "Pirate Jenny"), and contemporary
tunes (Sarah McLachlan's "I Love You," Tori Amos'
haunting "Winter").
Since it
was Valentine's Day, it was fitting that most of the songs dealt
with some aspect of love. Love longed for, love found, love
lost. And, nowhere was she more riveting than in two songs just
added to her repertoire, a medley of Nikka Costa's "Nothing
Blues" and Paula Cole's, "Throwing Stones." As
tears streamed down her face, Greene's voice soared as she sang
of the pain of a love just ended. . . My only complaint: one
night just isn't enough for this gifted artist. Hopefully some
producer will have the good sense to book the singer-actress
for an extended run, and when it happens, be sure to go somewhere
that's Greene! . . .
A footnote: Greene began recording a new solo album the day
after the concert.
Stay tuned for details! |
