Shows

photo by Devon Cass The encore in my show Where's The Fire? was a beautiful ballad by Leslie Bricusse- When I Look In Your Eyes. At the same time I re-discovered that song from the score for Doctor Doolittle, I came across Something In Your Smile which made an instant impact- the sentiment of the lyrics became a point of departure to explore the inexpressible qualities of love and romance. Once again, I found myself back at the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center researching material for the new show. I get turned on to songs from many sources: listening to other artists recordings, watching old films, recommendations from friends. My musical director Dave Cook once wryly observed that he can always rely on me to find my way to relatively obscure songs from the American Songbook. Case in point- the set list for Something In Your Smile includes a mix of the well-known: I'll String Along With You, It's Today, It Shouldn't Happen To a Dream, along with some choice gems I unearthed from far-flung sources: Rozzo Gordon's gorgeous ballad After Hours, Once Is Enough For Me by Peter Matz; a couple of lesser-known tunes by Sammy Cahn; a dusting off of Henry Mancici's Bye-Bye and the wild card pairing of Vincent Youmans and Gary Bonner. This show enjoyed a successful run in the swank Hideaway Room @ Helen's.

Peter Leavy-Cabaret Scenes

The ruggedly attractive Greg Purnhagen possesses a strong, yet smooth and easy baritone that romantic songwriters should cherish, and he uses it to good advantage in his new show at Helen's Hideaway Room, Something In Your Smile. It's a contemplation of “the elusive, mercurial and unpredictable nature of love,” its comings and- literally- goings.

Purnhagen's overview ranges from Burt Bacharach's The Look of Love, to Cy Coleman's Why to Change Me Now?, to Henry Mancini's Bye-Bye (I'm Leavin'). Whatever phase of romance Purnhagen's songs describe, he and his trio effectively project the right mood. Strongly jazz and blues influenced, the arrangements by Music Director David Cook and Purnhagen synchronize beautifully with his vocals. The trio, with Cook on the piano, Michael Blanco on bass, and Mike Petrocino handling the drums, are very much at home in the idiom, shining especially brightly in a couple of Duke Ellington melodies, and strong but sensuous renditions of If The World Should End Tomorrow and After Hours.

With those looks, that voice, and his sensual body language, when he gets into numbers such as I Didn't Know About You, if he'd make that just-you-and-me eye contact, it's not hard to imagine many in the audience breathing quicker and clutching their cocktail glasses more tightly.

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