Photos: Linda Purl with Billy Stritch Play Cafe Centro

If there was any doubt that Cafe Centro was a bona fide Cabaret Venue it was dispelled last night. Billy Stritch was seated at the Cafe's Grand Piano and Linda Purl was the songstress headlining on the cabaret stage of the South Florida restaurant. The SRO crowd that had managed to snag dinner/show tickets got to hear one of the most skillful performances of the Great American Songbook and Broadway show tunes currently out there in Cabaret world. Linda Purl, an extraordinary actor is also an extremely talented vocalist who makes you fall in love with the song and also with Linda Purl, and I might add she is oh so great to focus on through my camera lens.

Billy Stritch was the music director for this gig and he brought his creative, virtuosic, jazz infused piano playing to accompany her. Billy was an engine of harmony and rhythm that coupled with Linda's natural swing and romantic ballads perfectly. The overflow crowd loved every note of the performance. Mr. Stritch usually adds his lush voice underneath his stable of super singers to create some fantastic musical symmetry, as he has done for some of show biz's legendary entertainers (Liza Minnelli, Christine Ebersole, Linda Lavin, Linda Eder, and Marilyn Maye to name a few.) During this show he wowed us all with his keyboard artistry. BTW, BIlly, an extraordinary singer/ entertainer on the cabaret and concert stages worldwide can be seen at the new WICK Museum nightclub on April 1st for a special one night only engagement performing his Cy Coleman show. Not to be missed by music lovers.

Sanford Fisher produced the Linda Purl evening. It brought these two super stars of the Cabaret and Concert stages together for an outstanding evening at Cafe Centro, our local oasis of live music in Palm Beach.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff