Heather Mac Rae

HEATHER MAC RAE at HELEN’S


HEATHER MAC RAE
I CHOOSE LOVE
The Hideaway Room @ Helen's

Heather Mac Rae no longer needs to be Heather Mac Rae. In her new,
glowing show at The Hideaway Room @ Helen's, Heather proves that she
has moved strongly beyond her heritage as a member of her musical
clan, and without the need to anchor her show in family references
is her own woman on the cabaret stage. That woman is a natural
entertainer, a singing actress who knows how to convey a lyric's
meanings, a song stylist with honey in her voice. Further, she's
someone whose warmth and talent instantly dissolve the distance
between stage and audience, to reveal a friend you instantly enjoy
visiting with. Showcasing her newest solo CD, I Choose Love, Heather
offers a smooth mixture of standards and contemporary numbers, ranging
from works by Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen to gutsy
blues (Sugar In My Bowl) and newer works by Amanda McBroom (including
the CD's title song, with music by David Friedman, as well as
McBroom's Hope Floats, with music by Michele Brourman); Laura Nyro,
Joni Mitchell, and Julie Gold (with one of her more recent songs, pure
Gold, titled Southbound Train). Heather is superbly partnered
throughout by David Lewis with his silver-like piano accompaniments,
between-song noodling, and occasional vocalizing.

Heather Mac Rae continues at The Hideaway @ Helen's on Fridays and
Saturdays through April 30.

Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
Reviewed October 23, 2005