Andrea Marcovicci & Maude Maggart WOW Their Audience at The Gardenia
Updated: Jun 6
Andrea Marcovicci and Maude Maggart perform an evening of Cole Porter at The Gardenia
Sunday, May 5th, Los Angeles, Ca
written by Entertainment Editor, Dan Ruth
As a long-time New Yorker now living in Los Angeles, it’s not surprising that occasionally I pine for live entertainment that smacks of the energy of the big apple. When I heard that Andrea Marcovicci was presenting an evening of Cole Porter at The Gardenia with Maude Maggart and special guest, Jeff Harnar, I immediately reserved two seats. LA has piano bars and live music, that goes without saying, but for all its haunts, none have quite compared to the New York vibe that I found present Sunday night at The Gardenia, the oldest cabaret supper club in the United States. The minute I walked through the front door, I felt like I was right at home.
In all honesty, The Gardenia could be called Andrea Marcovicci’s home. Ms. Marcovicci has been performing at the famed West Hollywood supper club now for nearly four decades and for tonight’s evening of Cole Porter, the club was completely sold out. From the very start when asking the audience what "one word" describes the lyrics of Cole Porter, Ms. Marcovicci had the crowd in the palms of her diamond-glistening hands. The word she was looking for of course, was “sophisticated” and for the next hour, that’s exactly what she and her co-stars delivered – in spades.
Whether you’re familiar with Porter’s masterful lyrics and songs or if you’re only slightly familiar with the works of Cole Porter, there was something in this show for everyone, with its stars crafting a highly entertaining evening full of quips and barbs, tongue twisters and show-stoppers, that left ample room for multiple pin-drop moments of pure magic, under the masterful musical direction of Gerald Sternbach.
The luminous, commanding presence and razor-sharp comic timing of Ms. Marcovicci, paired with the lush and haunting precision of Ms. Maggart was nothing short of mesmerizing, with the two trading the spotlight, while improvising and riffing off of one another, making it very clear that for all the sophistication of Mr. Porter’s songs, his music also scores its share of comic gold. From their charming duet of "Let's Misbehave" into "You do Something to Me," to
Ms. Marcovicci's wildly funny interpretation of "The Physician" the two stars had the room in wrapped attention, especially when the mood would swing in the opposite direction.
As Maude Maggart's masterful and quite definitive rendition of "Love for Sale" illustrated, many of Cole Porter's lyrics did in fact drift in from much darker waters. With the two stars dawning reading glasses and holding readers theatre scripts, they sang many lesser-known lyrics that had been mined by author, Robert Kimball from his book, "The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter" and shared many a story about Cole Porter's "extremely wealthy" wife, Linda Lee Thomas, for although theirs was a complex and "understood" relationship, Mr. Porter truly did love Linda with all his heart. If there was a running theme for this performance, it was indeed, love and all of it's trappings.
The evening's icing on the cake came with the introduction of special guest star, multiple award-winning, New York cabaret, concert and recording artist, Jeff Harnar. Mr. Harnar completed the evening with a stunningly beautiful rendition of "I've Got You Under my Skin" and afterward, bedazzled the audience by performing all five refrains of the brilliant "Can Can." So Andrea Marcovicci scored a major home run with this juicy, well-rounded evening and the best news is that she will be back, with new performances and special guest stars, every first Sunday through the end of the year.
If I can get down to The Gardenia, and if a slow Mohammedan can, if a kilted Scottish clan can, if in Wagner a Valkyrian can, baby, you can can-can too!
June 2nd: "Love Songs of WWII" w/Maude Maggart
July 7th: "Stephen Sondheim" w/ Barbara Brussell
August 4th: "Jerry Herman" w/Jason Graae
September 7th & 8th: "Strangers" Maude Maggart Solo!
October 6th: "Great Gals & More" w/Brourman, Green & McBroom
November 3rd: "Irving Berlin" w/Maude Maggart
December 1st: "Gardenia Christmas 24" w/Mause Maggart
Andrea Marcovicci performs in residency every first Sunday through the end of 2024 at The Gardenia Supper Club, 7066 Santa Monica Blvd.
Comentarios