BWW Reviews: In DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL, Champagne Pam is Bubbly, Brassy, Bold and Beautiful at the Beechman

Cabaret Reviews and Commentary by Stephen Hanks

Two years ago, in my generally favorable review of Pamela Lewis' quirky, if flawed, cabaret show Dog-Walking Diva, I went a little bit out on the limb with . . . "She has the potential to be a major cabaret star." Well, as Lewis (who given her bubbly and bold personality performs under the totally appropriate moniker of "Champagne Pam") remarked often in her newest show, during which she assessed whether she had yet achieved a list of life goals, that particular observation would have to get a "check." Because with Daddy's Little Girl, Champagne Pam--who proudly admitted to having reached the Big 4-0--is all grown up as a cabaret performer and should be a member of that rarified group who even a reviewer on a press comp should pay to see and hear.

Her opening at the Laurie Beechman on Friday night (she stages two more shows on Wednesday, May 15 and Friday, May 31) was everything an entertaining cabaret show should be--warm, funny, intimate, engaging, well-structured, and occasionally surprising--and performed by a confident entertainer and sultry singer who is totally comfortable in front of an audience and in her own skin. Champagne Pam is Cabaret's Party Girl, a cool chick who is extroverted and accessible, and who can stand out among the women and also be one of the guys. In keeping with her stage name, her new show has body, heart, spirit and soul. When the awards conversations start later this year, Champaign Pam should be sipping from the nominations flute.

While her spring 2011 show chronicled her love for and devotion to "Man's Best Friend," in Daddy's Little Girl Lewis took her audience on a succinctly-told life journey from her childhood as the youngest of four siblings (three of them girls who dad all led to believe were the "favorite"), through her independent adolescent phase, her early adult careers, and then her marriage (to her guitar player husband, John Hurley), with her father serving as the moral and supportive compass throughout the adventure. With Champagne Pam's "Daddio" (with Pam in photo, below right) sitting down front and transfixed on her every move, she conveyed a charming musical story that was emotional, yet never got sappy or schmaltzy. Lewis and her director Susan Winter (a fine cabaret singer in her own right) wouldn't let the personal aspect of the show get too serious, as if the sassy Pamela could ever be that self-indulgent. Entering from the rear of the theater, mic in hand, and wearing a sexy, blue sleeveless cocktail dress, Lewis sashayed through the audience singing a jazzy, uptempo "The Way You Look Tonight," and then segued into "Because of You," emitting silky tones that are as honey-streaked as the trademark hair that makes her look like an adorable lioness cub.

For the past decade or so, Lewis has been a constantly-booked wedding singer fronting a 10-piece band, and the experience she has gained in singing every possible style of song was evident throughout this show. Whether it was sounding coquettish on a few bars of the show's title song, swinging on Billy Mayhew's "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie," swaying to a calypso beat on "Waiting For Life to Begin" (the Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty song from the musical, Once On This Island), going light and loungy on Melody Gardot's "All That I Need," or sitting in her pop vocal wheelhouse on Des'ree's "You Gotta Be," Lewis' vocals were strong, subtle, distinctive, and never required belting. She was both childlike and mature on Annie Dinerman's poignant "Child In Me Again," and on a tribute to her late mother, Krisanthi Pappas' "The Voice," she conveyed a sensitivity that didn't cross the line into maudlin territory. One of the highlights--and total hoots--of the set was Lewis offering the Little River Band's "Reminiscing" (Graeham Goble), a song which I'd never warmed up to when it was a hit in the late 1970s, but which I now love after hearing Pam's delicious rendition. And with terrific support from Musical Director Bill Heller on piano, Jim Cammack on bass, husband John on guitar, and especially Frank Bellucci on percussion, Lewis conjured the jazzy songstresses of the past on swinging versions of "That Old Black Magic" and "The Best Things In Life Are Free." (Please click on Page 2 below to continue).

Near show's end, Lewis unabashedly proclaimed "I love you, Dad," before employing the most angelic pop soprano vocal she could muster on Natalie Grant's "I'll Always Be Your Baby." As a song setup, she read from a poem her father once wrote inside a birthday card. "Savor the Flavor," George Lewis lovingly offered to his little girl, which is some of the best parental wisdom a child can receive. Now, and for a long time to come, cabaret audiences with be savoring the flavor of Champagne Pam.

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