Review: CORINNA SOWERS ADLER Sweetens The Summer Night at The West Bank Cafe

A cabaret crooner & incredible instructor helps the West Bank crowd forget about the heat with cool tunes.

By: Jul. 01, 2021
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Review: CORINNA SOWERS ADLER Sweetens The Summer Night at The West Bank Cafe

Just when you thought the heat was going to do you in completely, to be found on 42nd Street is an oasis of loveliness, where the food excels and the a/c propels frosty air into a dining room filled with grateful patrons who divide their time between their dinner plates, their dinner companions, and the dinner music. Thanks to Steve Olsen, The West Bank Cafe stays alive and thrives in post-pandemic Manhattan (for clarity, YES, the pandemic continues, so stay safe out there, folks) and Olsen is out there every night, seating and serving the patrons, himself, like the impeccable host that he is. As such, Mr. Olsen continues, to the delight of the clientele, to present New York City cabaret and concert performers for two sets of dinner music, every night the eatery is open for business. So far, his talent booking skill has been (mostly) right on the money, and last night his haven of happiness laid out the smiles with a vengeance because the act for the evening was Corinna Sowers Adler

Review: CORINNA SOWERS ADLER Sweetens The Summer Night at The West Bank Cafe Ms. Sowers Adler is a cabaret artist of note and a performance professor of much acclaim, so it should surprise nobody that she would handle the dinner music challenge so well, and it is (actually) a challenge for some, having to work outside of the structure of a script and the fourth wall of the proscenium arch. One suspects nothing is a challenge for Sowers Adler, so at ease is she with every moment in her act, from singing standards to torch to some soft pop and Broadway, all the while staying in touch with her audience, none of whom suffered from neglect. Indeed, Corinna is the first artist to play the dinner music series that this writer has seen leave the DIY stage area to go out into the audience, harkening back to a time when artists like Eartha Kitt, Julie London, and Mimi Hines played supper clubs and saloons, hanging out with the patrons and chatting them up in-between numbers. Performing "All The Things You Are" to celebrate a couples' anniversary, fulfilling a "Secret Garden" request from a Lady at the Bar, and playing around with a guest joining friends for dinner as he crossed in front of her, Sowers Adler is every bit Sophie Tucker without the bawdy jokes... though, knowing CSA, there is probably some naughty rhetoric tucked away somewhere in her repertoire. The lady is a born entertainer.

The lady is also an exceptional proficient.

Review: CORINNA SOWERS ADLER Sweetens The Summer Night at The West Bank Cafe If Corrina Sowers Adler were not already born with a pretty soprano with which to inform her artistry, the work she has done as a student of voice shows in every word, every syllable, every note that comes out of her mouth. This is a voice that is so sweet and so clear, and because CSA put in the time and learned proper technique, that sweetness travels into the air on immaculate breath control, projected with purpose, so that listeners all the way at the back of the establishment can enjoy the beauty in the sounds she makes with her impressive instrument. It isn't all technique, though, because Sowers Adler is also a heck of an actress, one smart enough to know how to pull her punches for the crowd without borders, yet remaining theatrical on comedy numbers like "Air Conditioner," torch songs like "Cry Me a River," or heartbreakers like "How Could I Ever Know?" She has mastered the balance that is cabaret and dinner music, both of which require connection with an audience, something Corrina has in abundance. Factually, CSA is so engaging and entertaining that two dinner guests were seen switching their table in order to get closer to the action, and closer to this bright beacon of sweet light and truly listenable music. Between her gregariousness, that pretty and pristine voice, and the sensational skills of musical director James Horan (to say nothing of the rapport they share) Corinna Sowers Adler made a truly unbearable night of summer heat a cool and comfortable evening of sweet harmony. Here's hoping she returns to this kitchen of Hell's Kitchen to make better some of the remaining nights of summer and, possibly, the year.

The West Bank Dinner Music Series plays Wednesday through Sunday from 7 pm to 9 pm, with two different acts playing Fridays and Saturdays. There is NO music charge, though all artists have a physical tip jar at the restaurant and a virtual tip jar online. For information and schedules visit the West Bank Cafe website HERE.

Learn about Corinna Sowers Adler at her website HERE.



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