Review: Deborah Stone Sings In Elegant Tones And Shades Of Light And Dark In Her CHIAROSCURO At Pangea

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW Reviewer here. Putting the silent T in cabareT to bring you ALL the Tea!

Dahlings! Thursday night's adventure to Pangea was another introduction to little Bobby of one of NYC's cabaret mavens. Having never seen a Deborah Stone show before, and saving research for the writing portion of this report, we were a pair of fresh ears for a lady who, in the past few years, has been placed at the pinnacle, as a singer's singer. Her latest show, entitled CHIAROSCURO (Key Aro Skoo Ro) did its intended job, and defined, in music, the meaning of that painter's term - an effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction onto something... Deep, right? It makes sense, the more one finds out about Deborah, the performer. A true artist of the theatre with an impressive resume, Ms. Stone, a native New Yorker (don't you just love those, my lambs!?) became a professional ballet dancer in the corps at the Metropolitan Opera in the 70s. Life and the biz took her down many roads that first honed and then fully utilized her singing and acting abilities. As a bonafide triple threat, La Deborah tripped through shows, classes, and clubs from one coast to the other performing, teaching, and reaching for the excellence for which she has become known. You, my dearlings, can read all about THAT on her website... Now back to Thursday night's outing...

Directed by the incomparable Lina Koutrakos (a singer in her own right who proves she has a deft hand at directing, with each show she helms), Stone began with a very Jewish medley combining works by Coleman, Schmidt, Leosser, and Sondheim, and mixing them in her bright, pointed tone that automatically gives a level of dramatic tension to the work. That sound assisted the actress behind the music in mining all the depth of neurosis under pressure that makes those theatre composers masters of their craft. Those palpable neuroses combined with Stone's oh-so-subtle delivery, an impressive range with lovely high notes, and vibrating low notes embellished only with the feelings coming from the words, proved she has the goods in all departments as a singing actress... or an acting singer. If she had only worked in a time step or a jete here and there, the crowd would have gotten the full triple-ness of this triple threat. Sting's MOON OVER BOURBON STREET stands out, in terms of expert tonality, vocal placement, and control. Stone's subtleness and her ability to float high notes into an almost whispering volume that still filled the room was reminiscent of the late, great Nancy LaMott, but with a difference... Where LaMott's darker, rich, depth of tone was always reaching out creating warmth, Stone's sharper, edgier sound made this writer incline toward her to the front part of our seat, wondering if we would see the precipice before it was upon us. As she journeyed through her setlist, alternating between the light and dark of her musical CHIAROSCURO, Deborah expertly connected with her audience during her quippy patter, as well. This is a funny lady who has been in show business her entire life and has picked up a few things.

Another standout was the beautifully lilting song of longing - IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL from ANNIE WARBUCKS (The Sequel!!??). But everything came together in Audrey Appleby's PICASSO WOMAN, a song that sounds as if it came from the artist's "Blue Period," but with solid comic punches, in Stone's hands, as she played the part of a woman of today, feeling as though her body has morphed into one of Pablo's dramatically cubist figures. This is where Deborah's dancer's body activated within the music to convey the curves, edges, and angles that alarm all people when they closely examine their reflections over the years. Wrapping the show in the beautiful bow of Steve Winwood's uplifting BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE AGAIN, Stone (with the brilliant assistance of Musical Director John Cook and bassist Tom Hubbard) made this '80s country tune into an anthem of today, admonishing everyone to find all the shades of light and dark in our own CHIAROSCURO. This is not to say that Cook & Hubbard were not there the whole time, brilliantly buoying their singer from song to song, but their mix, here at the end, showed their symbiotic hour-long partnership to superb effect. In all, Deborah Stone illuminates everyone in her CHIAROSCURO and demonstrates that she is a master of the craft of performing for an audience by filling a room with her sound and emotions, without ever OVER filling or underdelivering. And so, my dear Bobby readers, you know what comes next... Our full...

5 Out Of 5 Rainbows

Deborah Stone Returns to Pangea with CHIAROSCURO On June 28 And Bobby Cannot Stress Strongly Enough that You get Your Tickets: HERE

Deborah Has A WebbySite: HERE

Ande Followe On Ye Olde FaceBooke: HERE

All Photos by Yours Truly, Bobby Patrick

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