BWW Reviews: Allison Brush Makes Cabaret Debut at Upstair's at Vitello's

Actress/lawyer Allison Brush made her very well-received cabaret debut at Upstairs at Vitello's Sunday September 14 with her show entitled For This You Went to Law School? Once an actress/singer, Brush, discouraged by rejection like many, left the profession and studied law, passing the bar exam on her first try. Now after many successful years as a lawyer, in which she claims she was miserable, she is returning to show biz, something she has sorely missed. In fact, participating in weekly sessions of Open Mic at the Gardenia and studying with songstress/master teacher Karen Morrow - law by day and singing at night - singing became her therapy.

It is always wonderful to see someone return to what they really enjoy doing the most. And Brush has a genuine gift for comedy, utilizing original material and songs that allow her to stretch her quirky sense of humor to the max. Much of the material she sang in the 55-minute set was put together with the assistance of expert musical director Rich Eames and keen director Karen Morrow. For example, if you are middle-age or over, you cannot help but be bowled over by the hilarity of songwriter Ray Jessel, whose "Life Sucks and Then You Die" is perfect for Brush's overly expressive face and gestures. It suited her style to a tee! Also on hand were a delightful combination of "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins with Tom Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". It's this sick sense of humor that obviously got Brush through many years of tedious courtroom drama. Another treat was Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" from TV's Monk. Other Lehrer material was on hand like "In Old Mexico" and "She's My Girl", and some wonderful material from Brush herself, collaborating with Rick Eames: a very endearingly funny "Cold, Cold Cat" about her cat Tyler and some of the lyrics from her opener "Born to Entertain" from Ruthless. Eames provided many of the sparkling arrangements throughout.

Ballads like "In My Life" by Lennon & McCartney and "If You Really Knew Me" from They're Playing Our Song do not suit Brush's funny style as well as, say "Screw Loose" from Cry Baby or "Too Long in LA" by Dave Frishberg, where she can truly have a ball. In spite of her genuine sincerity, her vocal interpretations of the ballads, particularly "He Touched Me", were less successful than the character numbers. Terrific closing combo of "As We Stumble Along" from The Drowsy Chaperone and "You Mustn't Be Discouraged" from Fade Out/Fade In!

Brush proves a sweet and endearing, real lady onstage with a campy humor that is not overdone. She just has to frown or lift her eyebrows and gesture with her hands, and we get the message. She can get the laughs. But I would really like to see her try a big, wild, out of control song, as I see her potential for stronger comedic turns. In your next show - and I hope you will do one - stick exclusively to the comedy songs and go for broke!

(photo credit: Stan Mazin)