BWW Reviews: David Fairchild Debuts Heart of a Man @ Sterling's

On Sunday August 28, actor/singer David Fairchild debuted his show Heart of a Man @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. Cabaret is a first for him. It is admirable to make a new start at any age, especially in show biz in LA, so I give Fairchild a hearty round of applause. "It's never too late" is a motto to be taken seriously, as Fairchild forges ahead not only with the show but also his first CD.

An attractive and well-groomed gentleman with a great deal of warmth, Fairchild's set included a lot of Broadway pop, but he should rethink many of his choices, which are a bit risky for his range. "Some Enchanted Evening", "Unchained Melody", "Speak Softly Love", "Pretty Women" and "Kiss Her Now" are a few selections that require a big voice capable of sustaining the final high notes, and Fairchild's pleasant baritone is unfortunately not quite up to the task, and so he strained to meet these demands. He fared much better on story-telling songs like "It Was a Very Good Year", "Standing on the Corner" and "Luck Be a Lady Tonight". "Goldfinger" was a rather odd choice, as it requires a dynamic, more exciting interpretation. Fairchild sang it in a rather straightforward manner, doing nothing other than to raise a goblet on high that he held in one hand throughout. The number was a strange fit to his repertoire and his rendition went nowhere. It was an embarrassing moment. Another major flaw in the show is a lack of patter. At one point he started to talk about his parents discovering him sing as a teenager, and how he accompanied his dad to various clubs in Florida to try out material. But the story ended there. It would have been nice to hear more about his life - with maybe even a little humor thrown in for good measure. But alas, there was none.

Praise to Leslie Sharp who accompanied Fairchild on piano throughout and to Will Phillips on percussion.

My advice to David Fairchild would be to rethink the purpose of his show, pick out songs - within his range, tell some anecdotes about them, like how meaningful they are to him or who introduced them to him, restructure Heart of a Man and perhaps bring the show back for another trial run before recording it. It's not that David Fairchild cannot sing - he definitely can, but, with all the competition out there, he needs to find his own special way of presenting himself and his material to the music world. I wish him every ounce of luck!