Review: Elizabeth Stanley's LET YOUR HEART BE LIGHT at The Laurie Beechman Theatre Is Playful and Perfect

“That was perfect!”

That was my date at the Elizabeth Stanley show on December 12th, as soon as the curtain call was over, and she could not have been more right in her estimation of the evening.  LET YOUR HEART BE LIGHT was, indeed, perfect.   It was a perfect cabaret, it was a perfect Christmas show, and it was a perfect example of why we need Elizabeth Stanley doing this kind of entertaining on a regular basis.  The last time I had a chance to see and review the Tony Award nominee, I used the word perfect once or twice, and I expressed a wish for more Elizabeth Stanley cabaret.  I consider this holiday outing a blessing, a promise fulfilled, and a wish for MORE Elizabeth Stanley cabaret, for it is patently clear that this is a milieu for which she is ideally suited, and incredibly adept.  In other word: perfect.

LET YOUR HEART BE LIGHT may have been a Christmas cabaret, but even if the evening did not have the holiday as a framework upon which to hang the ornaments, the program would serve as an example of how to do a cabaret at any time of the year - it just happens that the material is specific to the month of December.  Factually, the whole thing was like one of those Christmas specials that you find on the TV… or, you used to find on the TV - I’m not sure if they really exist anymore.  But the Elizabeth Stanley Christmas special wasn’t on TV, it was at The Laurie Beechman, and it had Christmas music, comedy skits, outrageous costumes, heartfelt ballads, a prize giveaway, and a guest artist!  It had a sensational TV special orchestra, and a  live studio audience.  It was even sixty minutes, the length of a TV special at Christmastime!  The only thing missing was the television cameras, but trust me when I say this: Elizabeth Stanley LET YOUR HEART BE LIGHT was a good old-fashioned television Christmas special.  If we’re lucky, it will be back next year, like all good Christmas specials.

For her sixty-minute holiday show, Elizabeth Stanley kicked it off in costume, and what a costume (“I was walking through Times Square on my way here and I’ve never fit in more”) and entrance.  It could’ve been the start of a comedy show… indeed, this could have been a comedy show - that’s how strong is the presence of humor with Elizabeth Stanley.  It is a major factor in the makeup of her program and our enjoyment thereof.  Inasmuch as her holiday show centers around that humor and the pathos of heartfelt rhetoric, the musical programming is just as varied, from classic soprano lilts on carols like “What Child is This?” to Broadway belting on “The Man With The Bag,” from a jazz-treated “Carol of the Bells” to its mashup mate, a rock grooved “Hazy Shade of Winter.”  And, surprise, Stanley sounds authentic on every song, sometimes growling jazz styles, purring rock riffs, and trilling the high notes, all in the same number.  She is greatly fortunate in her association with three stellar musicians who sound like twelve - Bassist Tom Hubbard, Drummer Dan Berkery and Piano-playing Musical Director Tedd Firth, who kindly presented ES with inventive and entertaining arrangements for songs we’ve all heard many times, to the point of not wanting to hear them anymore.  Well, congratulations “Sleigh Ride” - you’re out of the basement.  Firth and Stanley have made it a pleasure to hear you sung, once more.  As a matter of fact, the duo took two songs that are usually on this writer’s Detestable List and made them into Must-Listens.  For years, on a general basis, I never want to hear “Run, Run, Rudolph” or “Please Come Home For Christmas” - neither song has ever been palatable to me.  Today, I’m wondering if there’s any way that Elizabeth Stanley might consider recording them.   When I review a show, I have a piece of paper with the set list on it, and I draw a star next to the numbers I particularly like.  Not only do “Sleigh Ride,” “Please Come Home For Christmas,” and “Run, Run, Rudolph” have stars next to them - there are so many stars on the sheet of paper that it more closely resembles the wallpaper from a children’s nursery.  Firth and Stanley have collaborated on treatments for these and other songs that elevate them to a Stanley specific quality of excellence and electricity.   The Laurie Beechman audience was cheering with appreciation and screaming with laughter, from opening image to final bows.

For the non-musical programming of LET YOUR HEART BE LIGHT, Ms. Stanley curated a series of vignettes that flow together so seamlessly as to render concert into play.  A lecture on the Norse legend of the Straw Goat provided much hilarity for her “A.P. Cabaret,” a “Descant Competition” gave Stanley and guest artist, the dazzling Lee Harrington, opportunities for belly laughs and high notes, an accounting of her daughter’s detailed interest in the history of Christmas was eye opening and jaw dropping, and a moving monologue about singing in church on Christmas Eve didn’t just give Ms. Stanley a great lead in to a medley of “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry LIttle Christmas” - it gave her an invitation for a sing-along with the entire room (“I hear you, harmonies…bring it!”).  Every new chapter in her book, every new scene in her play, was crafted and presented with aplomb and proficiency that aren’t always seen in cabaret and concert… or, more accurately, aren’t often seen.  This was sufficiently impressive as to be considered rare.

An important part of the impressiveness of the musical cabaret was the music itself.  With Elizabeth Stanley’s sense of humor so very front and center, there had to be a right proper balance of the heartfelt, and that’s where the musical programming came in.  With all that rock music and blues and Broadway mixing in with the comedy, Mr. Firth’s stunning melding of “What Child With This” with “O Holy Night” showed  Elizabeth Stanley at her vocal best, while presenting the audience with sighs and hands reaching for hankies.  The aforementioned “Silent Night/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” sung by Stanley while holding a lit candle, was equally breathtaking, and a second duet with Harrington, the Bareilles/Michaelson “Winter Song” was lovely and luscious, emotional and engaging.  The presence of these peaceful moments gave ballast to the whimsy of the comedy and cavorting, like the wicked “I’m Playing Secret Santa with Myself” or finale “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (one of the best in a sea full of covers of the Carey hit).  From that first entrance in her Christmas tree chic to her final leap off the stage in her snow-white cocktail frock, Elizabeth Stanley’s club act was just what the Santa ordered - a perfect cabaret for Christmas.  Hopefully, the D’Angoras can talk The Lady Stanley into coming back for another show soon.  Between their starry Broadway friends, Brent Watkins’ charm and skill at managing the club, and a friendly and efficient staff of servers, the D’Angoras have made the Laurie Beechman Theatre one of the brightest lights on 42nd Street.  The community and the industry are very lucky that Michael and Tom stepped in a year ago and saved the neighborhood establishment; it has been a blessing to us all.

Find great shows to see on the Laurie Beechman website HERE.

Find Elizabeth Stanley on Instagram HERE.  Lee Harrington is online HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher