By Andrew Poretz . . . .
The very young cabaret singer Madalyn Matthews recently made her 54 Below debut with Fill My Cup With Blue. Madalyn first came to my attention at the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Cabaret Convention, where she has performed in K.T. Sullivan’s nights for the past three years. The audience was sizeable for a very cold Sunday night.
Madalyn was accompanied by pianist Tanner Swinand, bassist Charlie Lincoln, and drummer Willis Edmundson. She wore a brownish dress that nearly matched the copper plates of the 54 Below stage backdrop.
The statuesque singer has a rich and powerful mezzo-soprano voice, and a sweetness and innocence about her that is charming and quite real, and stands in contrast to her somewhat shimmery beauty. Still, Madalyn really lets her (already long) hair down when she sings the blues, which is her strongest suit as a singer.
Madalyn’s musical selections included standards – some as old as a century – and a few surprises. Her choices reveal a great knowledge of the Great American Songbook, and exquisite taste. Late in the show, she also unveiled a pair of well-crafted songs she wrote herself.
Some performance choices were unusual – Madalyn sang the verse to “In the Still of the Night” (Cole Porter) as nearly an operetta, but then swung it, turning it into a medley with Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, which she sang in full voice in an odd, somewhat overwrought dramatic fashion.
On the other hand, performing Kurt Weill’s “Lonely House,” Madalyn proved a better actor, helped by the dramatic use of her very expressive eyes. There is something very old-school about her style – as if she had been a music hall performer in a past life.
Madalyn first flaunted her blues chops On Duke Ellington’s “Easy Street.” She is surprisingly effective as a blues singer. At other times, as in “Love for Sale” (Cole Porter), Madalyn belted throughout, where vocal dynamics might have made a big difference. She is a powerhouse, and when she masters the more delicate aspects of song delivery, she will be unstoppable.
A couple of mid-show surprises were quite delightful. After telling of the lengths she went to in order to perform it, Madalyn performed an unpublished Yip Harburg song, “Love Being What It Is.” This was one of several numbers where Madalyn chose to use “recital style” to perform the song: standing still at the mic, hands at her side. She followed this with an outstanding “4+20,” by Steven Sills (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young). The poignant song describes the inner torments of its protagonist thinking about his past, present and future at the age of 24, not much older than Madalyn. She invited the audience to hum with her on the end of this very touching number.
Madalyn kicked it up a notch and a half with her own song, “Half Baked Blues.” It started slow, and then picked up in pace, and doubled in speed by the end to really wake the crowd up. Her second original, “To Be Loved,” is excellent, with an a capella verse, though she again was in “recital style” for this and the next song, Blossom Dearie’s “I Like You, You’re Nice,” performed with only pianist Swinand.
Madalyn returned to the blues with “Black Coffee” (Sonny Burke/Paul Francis Webster). Each time Madalyn sings the blues, she seems more alive.
“Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” (Frederick Loewe/Alan Jay Lerner) was a song Madalyn’s grandmother used to sing to her every night at bedtime. Here, with Swinand’s very delicate touch, she sang it like a lullaby.
In her closing number, “Lost In the Stars” (Kurt Weill), her phrasing on the line “And sometimes I think… maybe God’s gone away” was brilliant.
Overall, Madalyn made a strong debut performance at this world-renowned venue. She is a talented and very appealing performer. There is room for improvement that will undoubtedly come from more experience, and she would benefit from the addition of a director. Notably, the legendary “Crown Prince of Cabaret,” Steve Ross, was present. In our post-show chat, he revealed he was quite impressed with Madalyn’s voice, delivery, emotional connection, and authenticity. Impressing the hell out of a man who has known (if not worked with) most of the greatest names in the business is quite a feat for a new singer.
Madalyn Matthews: Fill My Cup With Blue took place at on February 2 at 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues (54below.org).
Photos: Andrew Poretz