Review: Laura Tashji's LYRICS OF MY LIFE - A Touching Memoir of Chasing Dreams and Motherhood

On Saturday, January 17 at 4 pm, Laura Tashji brought her cabaret LYRICS OF MY LIFE to Don’t Tell Mama, offering an intimate and personal musical memoir shaped by the songs that have guided her journey as a performer, mother, and storyteller.

Dressed in a short black dress with sparkly earrings, Tashji looked radiant as she entered the room with confidence. A Brooklyn gal through and through, she spoke fondly of growing up with dreams of performing and attending the original High School of Performing Arts - the famed “Fame” school - before it later merged with Music & Art (M&A) to become LaGuardia. That early passion for the arts, particularly ballet, informed much of the afternoon’s narrative and musical choices.

Under the musical direction of Aussie jazz pianist Matt Baker, whose playing was consistently stylish and playful, Tashji opened with “Long Ago and Far Away” (Jerome Kern & Ira Gershwin), immediately establishing the reflective tone of the show. Tashji possesses a lovely voice with a distinctive trilling vibrato, well-suited to the Great American Songbook repertoire that formed the backbone of her set. Standards such as “My Romance” and “Falling in Love With Love” (Rodgers & Hart) were delivered with sincerity, the latter used effectively to underscore her early love of dance.

“Fever” (John Davenport & Eddie Cooley), while sung cleanly and with precision, felt a bit too firmly on the beat; a looser, more relaxed approach might have allowed the song’s inherent sultriness to emerge more fully. Throughout the show, Tashji’s patter was warm and genuine, though some transitions into songs didn’t always feel organically connected to the material that followed. With no director credited, one couldn’t help but feel that an outside eye may have helped better shape the flow of the evening and refine these moments.

One of the afternoon’s standout numbers was “Gypsy in My Soul” (Clay Boland & Moe Jaffe), which featured a terrific solo from Baker, drawing appreciative murmurs from the crowd. Tashji also revealed another facet of her artistry in “A Woman’s Work,” set to music by Jerome Kern with new lyrics by Tashji herself. Here, she proved to be a smart and thoughtful lyricist, crafting lines that felt both personal and broadly relatable.

The family theme running through LYRICS OF MY LIFE was especially touching. Tashji radiated visible pride when acknowledging her sons - Marines who were seated in the audience - and that sense of gratitude and love infused her performance. Another highlight came when her daughter, Helena Goodall, joined her onstage for a “Somewhere/Moon River” medley (Bernstein/Sondheim). The moment was undeniably heartfelt and earned a warm response from the room.

Tashji closed the set with “The Impossible Dream” (Mitch Leigh & Joe Darion), punctuating the evening with the thoughtful reflection, “Without dreams, how can we write the lyrics to the rest of our lives?” - a sentiment that neatly summed up the show’s intent.

A warmly appreciative audience called Tashji back for an encore of “Over the Rainbow,” sending her off with well-earned applause. LYRICS OF MY LIFE may benefit from some directorial polish, but at its core, it is a sincere and affectionate cabaret that showcases Laura Tashji’s genuine love for performing, and her life as a mother.

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