Andrea Marcovicci bows at cabaret series
Renowned chanteuse Andrea Marcovicci, belle of supper clubs from the Algonquin Hotel Oak Room and Café Carlyle in New York to the Gardenia Lounge in L.A., is coming to Indian Wells. She’s leading off the 2014/2015 Jazz/Cabaret Supper Club series at Vicky’s of Santa Fe on Dec. 8.
Her theme, “A WWll Christmas,” celebrates Marcovicci’s return to SoCal after performing mainly on the East Coast the past quarter-century. Songs of the 1940s like “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “We’ll Meet Again” set the tone, to say nothing of the symbolic “White Christmas” and larky “Baby it’s Cold Outside.”
An unrepentant fashionista, Marcovicci will wear a dazzling white gown covered in crystals.
“Andrea is so glamorous; she always looks wonderful,” says series producer Bill Lanese of Palm Springs, a 25-year friend of the singer/actress. “And she participates with the audience. She knows how to work a room.”
The first of six Monday night events, festivities start at 6:30 p.m. with no-host cocktails followed by a three-course dinner at 7 p.m. and show, 8 p.m. Part of the proceeds go to Tools For Tomorrow, which offers Coachella Valley elementary school children free hands-on experiences in the arts.
Upcoming shows
A variety of performers fills the bill.
Jan. 5: Mark Winkler and Cheryl Bentyne revive “West Coast Cool,” all about the left coast 1950s jazz scene. Winkler made his mark as a critically acclaimed jazz vocalist/lyricist. Soprano Cheryl Bentyne held forth with the famed Manhattan Transfer group. Together, we’re told they form a dynamic duo.
Jan. 26: Iris Williams, who holds an O.B.E., Order of British Empire — calling her Dame is appropriate — takes the spotlight. The Welch diva’s voice is characterized as a cross between Marian Anderson and Nina Simone. She’ll go with “A Romantic Journey” repertoire.
Feb. 16: Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano join in “This Thing Called Love: A New York Valentine.” Lanese calls the married couple “lovebirds of New York.” Critic Stephen Holden of the New York Times termed them “the new fun couple on the block.”
March 9: Joanne Tatham, again with the Big Apple, concentrates on the ”New York Soundtrack.” The Washington Post hailed her style as “reminiscent of the pop balladeers of the late 1950s and early 1960s.” Lanese caught her show at the Carlyle and confirmed she has a “lovely voice.”
March 30: Wesla Whitfield and Mike Greensill “Sing for Your Supper: Best of the Great American Songbook.” Lanese says of these San Francisco favorites, “They’re so talented I just had to get them to the desert.” Team players, Wesla sings and her husband Mike is the pianist/arranger.
We pinned down Lanese (whose history includes public relations for 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and the Plush Room in San Francisco as to what is a cabaret, old chum? He riffed on the atmosphere.
“It’s more intimate, more emotional. The performer makes contact. You’re part of the show — not just one of 2,000 seats. It comes from the supper club of the ‘40s. There’s a sophistication.”
As for Vicky’s, he says it’s definitely “upscale…tablecloths, fancy covered chairs, candlelight. The women dress well. You feel like you’re going to something special.”
If you go
What: Vicky’s of Santa Fe 2014/2015 Supper Club Series
Where: Highway 111 and Club Drive, Indian Wells
Tickets: $80
More: (760) 345-9770, vickysofsantafe.com