Review: Marieann Meringolo Rises To The Streisand Occasion With THE WAY SHE MAKES ME FEEL at The Laurie Beechman

What’s your favorite Barbra Streisand record?  Mine’s The Third Album.  How about song?  Evergreen.  Everyone should have a favorite, and not just a favorite Streisand record, song, or movie. I mean a favorite, an artist whose work, whose presence, lights their soul on fire and makes their smile broaden and their eyes shine.  It does happen that Barbra Streisand is that artist for many people.  Mauricio Martinez has mentioned in his shows and on his social media that Barbra Streisand is his North Star.  Nicolas King once listed all of Barbra Streisand’s albums for me, in chronological order, by memory.  Lots of people love The Greatest Star.  And lots of people could or would do a Barbra Streisand show for their club act.  But only one person should.  For many years, I have said, in life and in print, that people should not sing Barbra Streisand songs in their club acts.  It’s too much.  The bar is set so high, the pressure is so great, the comparisons are so available, there isn’t any way to measure up.  Just don’t do it.  Unless you are Marieann Meringolo.  She is the one who should. 

Last night, last year's MAC Award winner for Major Female Artist - Female, debuted her new show, THE WAY SHE MAKES ME FEEL, and it was a night of absolute triumph.  The standing ovation at the end of the performance was well deserved and well earned.  There are no notes.  MARIEANN SINGS BARBRA is a perfect night of cabaret theater.  There it is. End of review.  That’s all.  Except that I can’t stop there - I have to tell you all why it was perfect.

When Marieann told me that she was doing a Streisand show, I told her that she was the only person working in cabaret and concert that I wanted to see do a Streisand show, and last night she proved me right.  You see, like Marieann, Mauricio, and Nicolas, I have also been a devotee of Barbra Joan since a very early age.  If you are sending a reporter to cover a Streisand show, I’m your guy.  I know the material.  So last night I knew all the different eras of the Streisand canon that Meringolo was covering.  I knew that MM was honoring BJS by using her original arrangements, but I also knew when Marieann was using her own artistic temperament to flavor the performance.  And let’s get this out of the way, right out of the gate:  Marieann is in great voice.  Strike that.  She is in amazing voice.  She is in exceptional voice.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sound so good, and that’s saying a lot, since she always sounds great.  But last night, Marieann Meringolo was, vocally and performance-wise, the best I have ever seen her.  Why?  Two reasons.

One:  she knows this material inside out.  It is in her bones, it is in her blood, it is in every part of her being.  It is in her soul.  She breathes this stuff.  She knows it in her sleep, she feels it in her muscle, she lives it when she sings it.

Two: This is her story.

Here is the key to the success of this or any other show:  Marieann Meringolo is telling her audience her story, not Barbra Streisand’s.  There is very little talk about Barbra Streisand’s life, very little mentioned about her career.  There are no anecdotes, factoids, trivias, or stories, save for a bit of Bergman/Hamlisch background to set up a performance of “The Way We Were” during which a glance around the room offered views of people wiping tears away from their faces.  Every speech was a story about Marieann Meringolo’s life, about the way that Barbra Streisand and her artistry affected Marieann Meringolo’s life, or her family relationships, or her artistic journey.  Marieann may have been singing her idol’s songs, but she was sharing her own stories, and, in doing so, she let her audience in - into her mind, into her heart, into her history.  And, to these cabaret-saturated eyes, that is what a successful cabaret show looks like.  Never before have I seen Marieann so relaxed.  I don’t want to downplay her previous shows, which always get high marks from me, so I will err on the side of saying that THIS show is simply next level for her.  I’ve never seen her so comfortable with her audience or herself.  I’ve never seen her this funny before.  And Marieann is funny onstage and off.  But last night she was the funny girl.  Marieann is a VERY.  FUNNY.  GIRL.  There were jokes written into the arc of the act (really good jokes, both verbal and visual), and there were jokes that happened in real time, that were allowed to happen in real time because Marieann was relaxed enough to let them in.  I’m not kidding about this - watching Marieann Meringolo, on the spot, mess up the words to “The Way We Were” and then SING about messing up the words to “The Way We Were” might be the greatest thing I have ever seen.  It was so real, so relatable, so enjoyable that the audience had no choice but to love it, and love her… and STILL they were wiping away tears from their faces.   She had them in the palm of her hand, and they didn’t want to be let go.  It is my fervent belief that the ideal length of a cabaret show is sixty-five minutes, possibly stretched to seventy.  This was an eighty-minute show, and if it had gone on for another ten or fifteen minutes, I don’t think anyone would have minded; I know I wouldn’t have.  Is it because of the Vermont road trip story in which Marieann and family members burst into the song “Sweet Zoo,” leaving the other passengers befuddled and wondering what was happening?  Is it because of the (seeming) impromptu recreation of a High School talent show during which Marieann and sister AmyGrace Williams performed a duet of “Everything” from A Star Is Born?  Is it because of a tender (and hilarious) vulnerable reminiscence about seeing the movie Yentl with the entire family on opening day?  Yes, yes, and yes.  Yes to all of it.  Every word spoken, every laugh inspired, every tear induced, every perfect note of THE WAY SHE MAKES ME FEEL is responsible for the audience reaction last night.  And the music, oh, the music must be discussed.

Director WILL NUNZIATA, Marieann tells, had the idea for this show.  He brought it to her and talked her into it (oh, yes, she was reluctant at first), and, together, they created a production that can be enjoyed by Streisand fans, by those who may not be Streisand fans but who just love good music and singing, by gay men who love Streisand, by gay women who will relate to Marieann’s personal story - there is something for everyone here.  The show could play big rooms in big cities; it could play Cherry Grove, or it could play the Pines, and it could play black box theaters and symphony spaces, all of which is due to the balance of music and monology.  When Ms. Meringolo is not actively engaged in speaking her truths, she is sharing the most exquisite music imaginable.  She is fortunate to have Doyle Newmyer at the piano, Musical Directing and arranging, and honoring original Streisand treatments like the famous “Down With Love” number from The Second Barbra Streisand Album or “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” from The Barbra Streisand Album.  Even when creating a new medley, like opening number “Don’t Rain On My Parade/Ev’rybody Says Don’t,” Mr. Newmyer has given Marieann roots in Streisand’s original treatments, and wings in new opportunities.  Twenty-seven years together have kept this duo one of the industry’s best.   Newmyer even makes it possible for Meringolo to stay true to epic numbers like “Gotta Move” (without the bongos) and “Piece of Sky” (without an orchestra) - their voice and piano treatments soar as though being performed with a full band.  And it is such a treat to hear “Piece of Sky” sung by someone who can actually do it.  That doesn’t happen every day, and if you’ve ever been in a club for a “Piece of Sky” swing and a miss, you know it’s the truth.  Musically speaking, last night’s performance was beyond reproach, and even though there are highlights marked down all over my notes, I’m going to make special call-outs to a breathtaking “Have I Stayed Too Long At The Fair,” a tumultuous “Pieces of Dreams,” and a sensual “The Way He Makes Me Feel” (for which Marieann adjusts the pronouns, something she does more than once during the performance, a pattern of which this writer approves, for this show, wholeheartedly, due to the personal nature of the storytelling).  As, one by one, MM delivered unparalleled performances of these songs oh-so-famous, it became harder and harder to believe what was being both heard and witnessed.   It is also worth calling out Brent Michael Jones, who techs his shows at The Laurie Beechman meticulously, but who made last night’s lighting design especially lush, with all the pinks and lavenders that Miss Streisand favors, and who worked little bits of audible magic, like adding sumptuous reverb to “Everything” to give it the Seventies pop vocals vibe so essential to the soundtrack of A Star Is Born.  Everyone involved with THE WAY SHE MAKES ME FEEL deserves kudos for making this one of the best shows of the 2026 cabaret season - maybe even THE best show of the season.  It’s only October; there are still two months left in the year.  But from where this aficionado of both cabaret and Barbra Joan Streisand sits, Marieann Meringolo and co. are currently sitting on the best show of the year, which, curiously, has no further dates scheduled.  But when new dates pop up, happy days will most definitely be here again.

Above:  Marieann Meringolo and AmyGrace Williams

Below:  Marieann's girlfriend, Nancy Brown, models the official show T-shirt.

Find great shows to see at The Laurie Beechman by clicking HERE.

Visit the Marieann Meringolo 'Gram HERE.

WILL NUNZIATA is online HERE 

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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