by Randy Cordova -- Jan. 25, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Maureen McGovern knows something about great songwriters. After all, she has recorded discs filled with material by the likes of the Gershwins, Harold Arlen and Cole Porter.

Her latest album is also devoted to great songwriters, but of a different sort: A Long and Winding Road features a collection of material from the '60s written by Jimmy Webb, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Laura Nyro and the Beatles,among others.

"Songs like this are evocative of a whole generation," McGovern says, calling from New York City. "But the thing is keeping them relevant today."

That is one of the intentions of both the album and the show that McGovern is touring around the country. The songs are not presented as dusty museum pieces surrounded with a whiff of incense. Instead, within a delicate cabaret framework, McGovern delves into the material, finding the immediacy and honesty.

For instance, the singer offers an intensely moving MacArthur Park that rescues the tune from Vegas purgatory. One listen, and you'll forget every cheese--filled lounge rendition you've ever heard.

"I was listening to a whole series of CDs to research the album," McGovern says. "I came upon this one CD with Richard Harris and MacArthur Park. I sat there, knowing that the song has been done a million times, almost to the point of being a cliche. But you listen to how adventurous it is. By the time I got to the middle adagio section, I just burst into tears. I knew I had to do it."

Other songs take on different meanings. Nyro's And When I Die is much more poignant coming from someone who has lived for several decades. When McGovern sings Webb's By the Time I Get to Phoenix, you get the sense that the sad couple in the lyrics has a long history together.

McGovern says approaching this type of material isn't any different from handling the classic American songbook.

"I try to find the simple, truthful way of telling the story," she says. "I look for songs that have a beginning, middle and end. Maybe you're changed by the end, maybe you're not. But something has happened."

McGovern turns 60 this year -- "Thank you for bringing it up," she deadpans with a laugh. Like most Baby Boomers, she came of age with this music.

"It's an immense section of your life," she says. "It's freedom, and a time in your life when all things are possible. There's a longing and sadness and restlessness in all these songs from the '60s, but they're filled with hope.

"When you fast--forward to today, and we're all worried about 401(k)s and our retirement, the music is so hopeful to me."

Hope is something for which McGovern is known. Before establishing herself as a hugely successful star on the New York cabaret circuit in the '80s, her big claim to fame was The Morning After, the Oscar--winning theme tune from The Poseidon Adventure. Her recording of the song reached No. 1 on the charts in 1973, and it still brings the house down in concert.

"I am always grateful to the song, and to this day I am glad to sing it," she says. "When I recorded it, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was going through a divorce. I had a lawsuit with my first manager. Basically, my life was tanking and, here I am, singing the ultimate 'hope' song. I think there was a desperate need for myself to believe in the lyrics."

Just as that song still resonates with listeners today, McGovern is finding the same truth with the material on A Long and Winding Road. Her stirring interpretation of Bob Dylan's The Times They Are a--Changin' is perhaps the most notable example.

"It could have been written this morning," she says. "It's so interesting to sing it today. I used to play guitar and sing it against the war in the '60s. Now, in the advent of the Obama administration, it's gone from a cautionary tale to being such a hopeful anthem. It's taken on a whole new life of its own."

Top 10 Vocal Recordings of 2008
McGovern: "A Long and Winding Road"

Not content to just climb aboard the nostalgia train to make the trip down A Long and Winding Road a sentimental, feel--good, warm and fuzzy Memory Lane, Maureen McGovern goes deeper. She invests the songs from the 1960s and '70s with the long view from today. But we sense the affection and deeper understanding of the been--there/ remember that/ got--that--in--my--bones revisit to the past as she fully embraces and enriches landmark numbers from the pens of the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb and others. There's a wisdom running through the messages and mantras with a life--affirming throb in her singing, whether it be "Let It Be" or the call to arms (or the call to ban them) of Bob Dylan's declaration "The Times They Are A--Changing."

Part earth mother, part deja vu prophet, part motivator, Maureen McGovern lights a fire under this material ---- but often a slow--burning one whose embers simmer and glow and continues to warm the heart. And that glorious instrument that is her voice, of course, makes it all a richer, more satisfying listening experience. An outstanding album in any year, with high quality production and arrangements, it's dignified yet vital, and makes us listen to many of these songs with new ears and new perspective.

PLAYBILL CELEBRATES THE 'BESTS' OF 2008

By Andrew Gans
26 Dec 2008

	Maureen McGovern
	photo by Gideon Lewin

MAUREEN McGOVERN
What's most enjoyable about watching an artist perform throughout the years is that rare occasion when one is surprised by a performance and thrilled anew at that artist's talent. Such was the case this past season when Maureen McGovern made her Metropolitan Room debut with her newest concert act, The Long and Winding Road, which was subsequently released on the PS Classics label. Directed by Philip Himberg with musical direction by Jeff Harris, the evening featured an eclectic mix of tunes from such celebrated sixties singer--songwriters as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Paul Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Laura Nyro. McGovern seemed to connect with this material on all levels, and she was more at ease with her audience than I had ever seen her. She was funny, charming and that rangy, clear--as--a--bell voice seemed as powerful, if not more so, than ever. I particularly enjoyed her a cappella rendition of "Where the Boys Are," her simple, slowed--down and touching version of "The Circle Game," her terrific, comical take on "Rocky Raccoon" and a thrilling "And When I Die. Click here to read entire article.

Maureen was invited by Brian Daher, Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps program, to be a guest performer at the November 25th dedication and unveiling of the bust of Harvey Milk, and the naming of the Harvey Milk Memorial Administration Building at the Treasure Island Job Corps Center in San Francisco, CA. She performed "The Times, They Are A Changin'" and "The Morning After."

Guest speakers were The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives; The Honorable Barbara Lee, U.S. House of Representatives; The Honorable Willie Brown, former Mayor, City and County of San Franscisco; the Honorable Bevan Duffy, Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco; Jonah Hendrickson, Sculptor; Stuart Milk, Vice President of ResCare, Inc, and nephew of Harvey Milk; and Benjie Williams, Center Director, Treasure Island Job Corps Center.

Far from a one--hit wonder, though, McGovern evolved from 1970s pop singer to world--class cabaret vocalist, debuting at Carnegie Hall in 1989 and becoming a staple in New York clubs and concert halls.

Her appearance Aug. 8 as part of the IU Summer Music Festival could easily have been just another visiting artist concert, no different than a performance given in St. Louis or St. Petersburg. But it proved to be much more than that, thanks to the involvement of IU faculty and students. The show opened with four numbers by the Festival Big Band. The first two were most exciting, serving as a coming--out party for new--tothe--faculty Corey Christiansen, a guitarist who should be on any music lover's radar.

McGovern then joined for a big--band set, led by IU prof Steve Houghton, who has worked with the her for 15 years. That connection----and McGovern's obvious respect for expert musicianship, lent a joyful quality to the scat--heavy set. Post--intermission, IU's Studio Orchestra joined to fill out the stage and the sound. Here, McGovern soared, with take--your--breath--away readings of standards, including Harold Arlen's "The Man That Got Away" and Kurt Weill's "My Ship." And by easing into music of another era with the likes of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "When I Die," she and her players made a convincing case that great songwriting didn't end in the 1950s.

From Life & Arts:
Theatre Review: One Red Flower
Inspired by Letters From Vietnam Vets
Beverly Cohn, Editor--at--Large
Santa Monica Mirror

One Red Flower, produced and created by Emmy--award winning director Paris Barclay, was presented as a staged reading at the Brentwood Theatre last weekend only as a special benefit supporting New Directions and Rubicon Theatre's Innovation Fund.

A musical play adapted for the stage from the book, Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, the production was skillfully directed by Ken Sawyer in a evening that had the audience smiling with a lump in its throat. One Red Flower is an intense peek into the lives of six young soldiers in a unit under the leadership of First Lieutenant Kenny Rutherford played by a most talented Dwayne Barnes (C.S.I., E.R., Without a Trace). Most of the action takes place from April 15 1969 to April 13, 1970 as this young band of soldiers prepare to be shipped back home.

The original upbeat music and lyrics written by Barclay took on the feel of a rock opera much in the same genre as The Who's Tommy. The score captures the pure essence of the poetry of the source material and perfectly underscores the prose portion of the script as well. The exceptionally talented ensemble, with the backing of the outstanding music director and arranger David O, performed masterfully and could very easily have been standing on a Broadway stage, a familiar arena for several cast members including Drew Tyler Bell (Mike) who appeared in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening and David Burnham (Marion) who just completed a stint in Wicked and was in the original cast of The Light in the Piazza.

Maureen McGovern gave a heart--wrenching performance as Eleanor Bridges in her letter exchanges with her son Billy played with great innocence by Josh Henderson, (Desperate Housewives) who was killed just a week before he was scheduled to be shipped home. Whether spoken as prose, sung as a solo, or part of this sterling ensemble, McGovern's musical performance was outstanding. Her rendition of (There Will Still Be) Christmas and Time Heals, as well as the song in the epilogue set in 1984 at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., where upon seeing her son's name she says: "Next to the name on this black wall is your mother's heart," are executed with deep emotion giving insight into what it must mean to lose a child to war.

A number of the songs, with music ranging from blues, to rock to country, include I Don't Understand This War, Mud & Blood & Water, The Kid Is Coming Home and the very compassionate Mrs. Rutherford which is sung to the mother of First Lieutenant Kenny Rutherford after he is killed. With such lines as "I do what I gotta' do to get through the mud and water" or "It's harder than you think," the ensemble created an upside down world that shattered most of audience's traditional beliefs. The toll of this war hits home when the young soldiers writes: "I've aged...I'm not happy--go--lucky anymore," or "I often wonder if what we're fighting for is worth a human life," or when Private First Class Alan Chisholm, tenderly played by Hunter Parrish, (Weeds) writes his wife telling her that "we might never see each other again and that you should consider marrying someone else." Eventually, he is captured by the VC and commits suicide after his release. The rest of this outstanding cast included Levi Kreis, (The Apprentice, Days of Our Lives) who offered some comic relief as the delightful redneck sergeant George McDuffy.

The title song One Red Flower is a song of hope about a single flower growing in the middle of the jungle, in sharp contrast to the ugliness of war and perhaps a symbolic reminder by the most gifted Paris Barclay who notes that, "Tonight, listen to these voices from the past ---- embrace them, and know that they represent the best in us, even when battered and bruised by the reckless choices other people may have made." And, the beat goes on...

Thursday, June 5, 2008
by BWW News Desk

ONE RED FLOWER, a new musical production starring Maureen McGovern, Elijah Kelley (Hairspray) and Hunter Parrish (Weeds), produced and created by Emmy Award--winning director Paris Barclay, is presented in a staged reading format on Tues., June 24 & Tues., July 1 as part of the Fashion Forms™ 'Plays--in--Progress' series at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura. Inspired by Vietnam veterans' letters, ONE RED FLOWER, will have two additional readings benefiting New Directions and Rubicon Theatre's Innovation Fund on Fri. & Sat., July 11 & 12 at the Brentwood Theater, sponsored by HBO, Showtime, ASCAP, the Richard and Harriet Orkand Foundation and Paradigm.

With original music by Barclay and directed by Ken Sawyer, ONE RED FLOWERr's book and lyrics were adapted for the stage by Barclay from the book Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, edited by Bernard Edelman for the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission. Actual letters written by Vietnam War soldiers and their loved ones featured in Dear America, serve as the source material for the play. Evoking a particular time and place in the American landscape and psyche, One Red Flower is an interpretive presentation of the soldiers' real feelings and experiences. The musical play poignantly expresses and conveys the raw emotions and the human toll of war, in effect, speaking directly to a contemporary America at war today.

Serving on the Benefit Committee for this special presentation are Oscar winners Helen Mirren, Taylor Hackford, Bruce Cohen and Stephen Schwartz (whose ASCAP Workshop originally helped to develop the work). Other notables lending their support include actors Anthony Edwards,Neil Patrick Harris, Katey Sagal, Jerry O'Connell, Rebecca Romijn and Blair Underwood; directors Michael Apted, Walter Hill, and Rodrigo Garcia; and producers Gil Cates,Thomas Schumacher, and Bonnie Curtis. Rich Willis serves as Honorary Chair.

The July 11 & 12 ONE RED FLOWER performances benefit New Directions (www.NewDirectionsInc.org), an organization whose mission is to empower veterans and facilitate their successful return to families and society; and The Rubicon Innovation Fund which underwrites special projects and initiatives for the development and creation of bold new works, and the productions of existing works in reconceived, re--imagined and reinvigorated forms.

"We've been entrusted with the words of many loved ones lost to war," Barclay says, "and we've chosen to honor them with a play that brings us back to the war, but shows the hope and humanity that many soldiers found in it."

A director, playwright and composer, the multi--talented Paris Barclay garnered two Emmys for Outstanding Directing as well as a DGA Award for his work on NYPD Blue and was Emmy nominated for directing an episode of The West Wing. Barclay was also the recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Best Drama Series (City of Angels) as well an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Direction (Cold Case).

Barclay's latest TV project is the new HBO series In Treatment, for which he also serves as co--executive producer and principal director. Among the many television series directed by Barclay include Lost, CSI, Law & Order, Monk, The Shield and Weeds, to name a few. Barclay has written 16 musicals, such as Order My Steps which he co--wrote and directed for The Cornerstone Theatre Company and has contributed original songs to shows including Romper Room, Clueless and his own TNT pilot The Big Time.

With a career spanning over 35 years, Maureen McGovern is best known for her chart topping hit songs featured on the soundtracks of major films such as "The Morning After" (The Poseidon Adventure), "Can You Read My Mind" (Superman) and "We May Never Love Like This Again" (The Towering Inferno).

On Broadway, McGovern starred in Nine with the late Raul Julia and 3 Penny Opera opposite pop superstar Sting. In addition, she appeared in Little Women, The Musical and The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway as well as the recent national tour of The King & I. In One Red Flower, she reprises the role of "Eleanor" which she created in the play's 2001 World Premiere (then titled Letters from Nam). "A Long and Winding Road," McGovern's latest CD release, has received critical praise from The New York Times.

Elijah Kelley starred as "Seaweed" in the film version of last year's box office hit Hairspray, stealing scenes from a star--studded cast including Queen Latifah,John Travolta, Amanda Bynes and Michelle Pfieffer. Among Kelly's film credits are roles in the recently released Take the Lead in addition to 28 Days, Heaven's Fall, Rome and Jewel and Fled.

Hunter Parrish currently stars on the 4th season of the critically acclaimed, Emmy nominated Showtime series Weeds, with Mary Louise Parker and Kevin Nealon. He'll soon be seen on the big screen, starring in the upcoming Warner Bros feature film 17 Again with Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. Freedom Writers, RV and Down in the Valley are among some of Parrish's film credits. He's also guest starred on TV series including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI and Close to Home.

Award--winning director Ken Sawyer earned five Ovation Awards, four Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards and was the recipient of the LA Times' "Critics Choice," all for his work on the Los Angeles premiere of The Woman in Black. This past winter he directed an adaptation of Crime and Punishment at The Actor's Co--op and he is currently at work on an original new production, Lovelace: A Rock Opera which recently had workshop presentations at The Hayworth Theater.

One Red Flower was developed through the ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theater Workshop; In The Works, a joint venture of The Kennedy Center and The ASCAP Foundation; and with the Rubicon Theatre Company's New Works program, headed by Michael Jackowitz. The show was first presented at Boston's North Shore Music Theater (2001), with subsequent productions at Seattle's Village theatre (2002), at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University (2003) and Arlington, Virginia's Signature Theater (2004). One Red Flower is a participant in the Festival of New American Musicals.

	Maureen McGovern (Deborah Finegold)

Elijah Kelley, Maureen McGovern, and Hunter Parrish will star in staged readings of Paris Barclay's musical One Red Flower, to take place on June 24 and July 1 at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, California, and July 11--12 at the Brentwood Theatre in Los Angeles. The readings will be directed by Ken Sawyer.
The show is adapted from the book Dear America: Letters From Home from Vietnam, which features actual letters from soldiers in the Vietnam war and their loved ones. Barclay has written 16 previous musicals. He has won two Emmy Awards for directing episodes of NYPD Blue and has directed episodes of such series as The West Wing, City of Angels, Cold Case, and In Treatment.

Kelley is best known for his role as Seaweed in the hit film version of Hairspray. McGovern has starred on Broadway in Nine, Little Women, The Pirates of Penzance, and 3 Penny Opera. She has been a top--selling recording artist and concert and cabaret performer for over 30 years, and recently released her newest CD, A Long and Winding Road. Parish currently co--stars as Silas Botwin on the award--winning series Weeds.

For tickets and information, call 805--667--2900 or visit www.rubicontheatre.org.

Maureen McGovern CD Review for Edge Publications:
"A triumphant musical tour-de-force"

by Kareem Tabsch,
EDGE Contributor
May 26, 2008

It is impossible for some singers to escape the life-long association with their hit song, and though it has been 35 years since she recorded it Maureen McGovern will inevitably be linked to her ballad "The Morning After" from the movie, "The Poseidon Adventure" which won the Academy Award for Best Film Song. However, since recording that song in 1972 McGovern's career continued to flourish into a highly successful life of work as a recording artist, actress, and broadway diva, seen most recently as Marmee in the national tour and Broadway version of "Little Women."

In her newest CD, A Long and Winding Road, McGovern returns to what has often been called "the second half of the Great American Songbook", the sound of McGovern's own youth and the words of the singer-songwriters who inspired her.

Though long associated with standards, ballads, and jazz; the tracks in this triumphant CD are more in line with McGovern's folk beginnings, and stem from a show the singer created for New York's Metropolitan Room.

"A Long and Winding Road," manages to be an homage and reinvention of the music it contains. Choosing music from this era is a tumultuous task, because their are so many timeless pieces by brilliant musicians, that avoiding a glaring omission would be difficult; still McGovern and musical director Jeff Harris deserve kudos for their song choices.

In Bob Dylan's generational anthem, "The Times They Are a Changin'", McGovern lends her crisp and clear delivery with an invigorating energy that even the seasoned Dylan fan may be surprised to find a new appreciation for the tune.

Perhaps the albums greatest track is Billy Edd Wheeler's "The Coming of the Roads," a heartbreaking song of love loss and our changing world. McGovern's voice is at home here, pulling the sentimentality out of every lyric and chord and wowing with her impressive vocal instrument, yet though this may be the most stand out performance in a group os standout re-interpretations, I would be remiss if not noting her fun and jazzy rendition of the Lennon/McCartney song, "Rocky Racoon" or beautiful take on Jimmy Webb's "By the time I get to Phoenix." Indeed, it is Webb, Joni Mitchell and Lennon/McCartney who are most represented on the album with 3 songs each.

Maureen McGovern's soulful, honest voice complements her musical choices as she breathes new life into many pieces, forgotten by all but those who relish the era.

Though, 'The Long and Winding Road' is a triumphant musical tour-de-force there are moments that are just satisfactory. The brilliance of Lennon and McCartneys songwriting is mostly an undisputed fact, but as wonderful as these numbers are, do we really need a new rendition off "Let it Be" or Lennon's "Imagine?"

Still for those of you who want to visit with an old friend, this CD is just that as the smooth, sultry-sounding McGovern recalls an era when music was rolling high.

Completely at ease and without any pretense, she turned the theatre into a cabaret in which anything was possible and made herself thoroughly at home, to the point where she climbed out of her shoes and comfortably restarted songs if they weren't going well. ("Let's start again, the diva screwed up,"she said.)

Though her portion of the evening lasted little more than an hour, she swung as easily through decades of musical variety as she did from the highest of notes to the lowest.

Much of the evening was devoted to the American songbook, and especially to Gershwin, where she hit on both the familiar and the less so: Her Summertime was languid and sensual, but she also had giddy fun with the playful Little Jazz Bird, ably supported by Kris Keith on flute, and glided through a too-brief vocal version of Rhapsody in Blue.

McGovern, who joked that she was "clinging to the last two months of her 58th year,"also put new spins on some surprising choices from the sixties and seventies: She found the jazz roots in Simon and Garfunkel's Feelin'Groovy and the rueful melancholy in Jimmy Webb's By the Time I Get to Phoenix.

She also put together what might be the ultimate medley of recognizable nonsense passages from mid-20th-century top-40 songs, and demonstrated the operatic version of Where the Boys Are that drove her parents crazy back in Youngstown.

Unlike many other singers, McGovern never hid behind the orchestra. Her a cappella, unmiked version of Over the Rainbow was pure, uncomplicated and moving. Several of her songs were accompanied only by spare piano or bass. When she did use the orchestra -- for example, in Laura Nyro's And When I Die -- it was to good effect, and she clearly felt at ease with the improvisation of jazz.

Credit should also go to her musical director, Jeff Harris, for his deft use of the orchestra to both show off their strengths and complement McGovern's.

The evening opened with a nicely varied and approachable set by the CJO, featuring a crisp Don't Fence Me In, a sophisticated 'S Wonderful, and a playful version of the theme to I Love Lucy.

A mellow I Thought About You and a dreamy Skylark displayed the CJO at its best: Not only did pianist Bobby Floyd get to dominate the former, but director Byron Stripling allowed him to do a reprise afterwards, giving the audience a chance to appreciate what might have gone by too fast. Skylark permitted company member Jim Powell to come forward and shine, showcasing a smooth, romantic side of the trumpet.

Highlights of the show included a performance of Night Train by Northland High School junior Robert Dove, winner of this year's Hank Marr High School Jazz Award. Playing alto sax, Dove gave a bright and breezy take on the number, holding his own with the orchestra, enjoying their support and giving back a new generation's energy.

Maureen McGovern at Lincoln Triangle Barnes and Noble May 5

The month kicks off with an in-store appearance by Grammy Award winner Maureen McGovern. The Broadway actress and heralded cabaret chanteuse will perform selections from "A Long and Winding Road." The album, recorded by PS Classics, is based upon McGovern's recent Metropolitan Room cabaret act. The signing and performance will take place May 5 at 5:30 PM.

The Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Triangle is located at 1972 Broadway at 66th Street in Manhattan.
For further information call (212) 595-6859 or visit www.bn.com.

Maybe it's the scores of performances she did as the staunch and comforting Marmee in the Broadway musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women that has hastened the enormous change in Maureen McGovern. There was a time when it was hard to know her well, to paraphrase Jimmy Webb's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," one of the songs she sings. There were certain things that could be known, of course, chief among them that she was the one-in-a-million owner of a zillion-octave range she controlled as if she were guiding a cruise missile.

With her current show, A Long and Winding Road, that's all changed. Warm as the spring sun throughout, she's come up with her best and most important show. Singing songs mostly culled from the folk-rock period experienced up close and personal by the Baby Boom Generation, she not only tells her own story but by inference the story of most of her audience.

In addition to opening herself up to the audience as something other than a nearly disembodied voice, and beyond reminding the patrons of a formative period of their own lives, she has programmed the material -- with director and co-writer Philip Himberg's help -- not only to underline the sometimes-lighthearted expressions of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, James Taylor, Laura Nyro, and Webb, but also to include reminders of the often-rootless, unsettled America that came to light in the 1960s and has only worsened in the years since. In doing that much, she has subliminally made the significant point that the songs written during the time she was coming into her own have the power and the durability of the songs from the more revered earlier chapters in the Great American Songbook.

While somewhat following that traditional cabaret formula -- a singer's autobiography illustrated in songs and patter -- McGovern isn't simply singing one disconnected song after another in that voice like a banner waving in the air seeking attention for the person waving it. She's also compiling a persuasive argument for herself as a performer who, at "58 and a half," has finally come of convincing age. She does it with bassist Jay Leonhart, who arranged the "Feelin' Groovy" duet on which he doo-doo-doos, and Jeff Harris, nimble as an aerialist at the keyboard.

One way to emphasize McGovern's contribution to the longevity of the songs she's chosen is to say that whereas many of the original recording artists simply sang the material handed them, she interprets it. For instance, without putting exemplary studio singer Glen Campbell down, it's necessary to note that McGovern's version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" contains the heartbreak of resignation not only in Webb's unadorned words but in the singer's manner. She lends the same hopeful pathos to "Let It Be" (Paul McCartney-John Lennon) and Lennon's "Imagine," which she sings as a beg-off.

There are laughs galore, too, in McGovern's presentation, which when she chats does sometimes wander dangerously close to the line between amusing and just the least bit cutesy-poo. Recalling her Catholic-school upbringing, McGovern sings Tom Lehrer's "Vatican Rag" with figurative tongue in figurative cheek. She even does a little dancing to it, but then again, the entire program is McGovern's dance to an irresistible new tune.

Maureen McGovern's voice richens over time

POP REVIEW:
Along the long and winding road, McGovern's voice has richened

March 15, 2008
By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News
mtarradell@dallasnews.com

Maureen McGovern
KYE R. LEE/DMN Maureen McGovern sang tunes from 1946 to 1964 on Friday at the Irving Arts Center.

IRVING -- Maureen McGovern lovingly connected with Joni Mitchell's lyrics as she sang "The Circle Game" on Friday night at the Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall.


"We're captive on the carousel of time," she intoned. Those words were telltale. The expressive songstress offered 80 minutes of tunes by '60s singer-songwriters during her "A Long and Winding Road" show, a piano-and-voice concert presented by the Irving Symphony Orchestra. She interpreted Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, Laura Nyro, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb and Simon & Garfunkel.

She dedicated the repertoire to folks born from 1946 to 1964. But she obviously chose these tracks for their timelessness, their ability to transcend generations.

Like the oeuvre, Ms. McGovern's voice never gets old. Years of stage work on Broadway, not to mention stints with orchestras and cabarets, have richened her timbre. She's no longer the sweet sounding ing nue that sang "The Morning After" in 1973. Now her pipes have heft and heart. Her voice is cinematic and theatrical, but never melodramatic.

The highlights abounded. There was her beautifully tender rendition of Carole King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Also, she turned James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" into a solemnly reflective yet quiet anthem. And let's not forget her takes on a pair of Jimmy Webb compositions: the melancholy "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" as well as the majestic "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress."

Plus, give her credit for choosing obscure songs such as Ms. Mitchell's "The Circle Game" and Randy Newman's "Cowboy." But Ms. McGovern went a bit into left field by tackling the Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon" and Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."

In between she recounted witty stories, such as the time in 1979 when she met Roy Rogers, a childhood hero, and he complimented her performance of "Can You Read My Mind," the Superman theme.

Ms. McGovern treats her concert stints as musical theater. They have a beginning, middle and end. They are examples of a singing actress communicating lyrics and sentiments with the sheer force of her personality. There are no props here, just raw talent.

So by the time she launched into "The Morning After," appropriately the final song, you felt as if you'd been on a journey. Today, more than 30 years after it became a radio staple, "The Morning After" carries heavier weight. The song hasn't changed, but Ms. McGovern's performance of it has. She now truly feels the power of those hopeful words.

They weren't written by one of the influential '60s singer-songwriters she honored, but "The Morning After" remains an ageless signpost.

Next Magazine Review

February 29, 2008
By David Hurst

The exquisite vocalist Maureen McGovern recently stopped at The Metropolitan Room to perform songs from her upcoming PS Classics release, The Long and Winding Road.  Celebrating songwriters that influenced her in the 60's and 70's, McGovern lent her shimmering soprano to songs by Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Webb, Laura Nyro and John Lennon with dazzling results.  With superb artistry and consummate musicianship, McGovern, along with musical director/arranger Jeff Harris and bassist Jay Leonhart, performed one of the most flawless shows I've ever seen.  Let's hope she schedules a return engagement in May when her CD hits the stores.

Maureen McGovern

February 18, 2008
by Michael Dale
Broadway World
BroadwayPulse.com

I wish I were a better writer so that I could more completely convey to you the breathtaking artistry of Maureen McGovern. That sterling voice seems so effortlessly and lovingly controlled, even when emitting the faintest whisper of sublime vocal purity. Combine that with an extraordinary talent for complex lyric shading enhancing sensitive arrangements by music director/pianist Jeff Harris and the always cool and entertaining contributions of bassist Jay Leonhart and you've got a overwhelmingly fulfilling evening of cabaret.

The delightfully humorous McGovern dedicates her two-week engagement at The Metropolitan Room, titled A Long And Winding Road, to those born between 1946 and 1964. "We will not go quietly into that early bird special," she says of her fellow baby boomers.

Directed and co-written by Philip Himberg, the evening covers the more lyrically-minded side of 60s and 70s pop, including songs by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and James Taylor. What becomes rather apparent early on is that while these singer/songwriters may have written great material, it takes the interpretive skills of a singing artist like McGovern to truly bring out the drama of their stories. The opening night audience was completely hushed throughout a stunning a cappella rendition of Mitchell's "The Fiddle and the Drum," a tortured and intense performance of Taylor's "Fire and Rain" and the ethereal fantasy she creates from Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changin'." She brings a quiet sophistication to Carol King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and turns McCartney's "Let It Be" into and inspirational prayer. Her deep, loving tones on Lennon's "Imagine" embraces the audience like a warm comforter.

A Jay Leonhart arrangement of Simon's "The 59th Street Bridge Song" is sunny and playful, while she gives a down and dirty spin on McCartney's "Rocky Raccoon" and a light jazz twist to Laura Nyro's "And When I Die."

An a cappella tour de farce called "60's Silly Syllables," adapted by McGovern, has the singer rapidly running through doot-doots, dum-dum-dums and other nonsense lyrics from hits like "Mr. Sandman," "Mrs. Robinson," "My Boyfriend's Back" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." She gets even sillier with Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag."

"West Side Story got me through junior high, The Beatles got me through high school and I could not have gotten through my divorce without Joni Mitchell," quips Maureen McGovern. Her new show is bound to get audiences through the night feelin' just groovy.

MUSIC REVIEW
Exploring Folk and Soft Rock and Discovering Pop Standards

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: February 16, 2008
New York Times

Unfailingly demure, stalwartly upbeat and blessed with a vocal technique second to none, Maureen McGovern might be described as the Julie Andrews of the Love Generation. Because she has devoted most of the last 25 years to a pop-jazz, Broadway and light classical repertory, I hadn't thought of her quite that way until her captivating new show, "A Long and Winding Road," at the Metropolitan Room.

Maureen McGovern
Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times

In the program, which plays irregularly through Feb. 23, she applies the pop-standard test to rock-era songs. The ones she has chosen, by Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb and others, pass with honors.

In that exam Ms. McGovern and her musical director and pianist, Jeff Harris (with Jay Leonhart on bass), transform astutely selected folk and soft-rock songs, many composed on guitar, into more formal, piano-based pieces performed with a recitalist's discipline and precision. Ms. McGovern has perfect intonation, impeccable enunciation and the dynamic control and the vocal flexibility of a classical lieder singer.

Her vocal texture, with its softened vibrato and nasality at the upper end suggests a folk-jazz Barbra Streisand with an extra octave. The style she uses about half the time is unaffected, pure folk-pop crooning, sometimes a cappella.

This chronologically nonlinear musical scrapbook of baby boom music, from the 1960s to the early '70s, begins with a fragment of Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" attached to Paul Simon's "America" and ends with a verse of Ms. Mitchell's "Woodstock," leading to John Lennon's "Imagine."

There is soft-edged humor. Amusing bits include " '60s Silly Syllables," a skillfully executed medley of nonsensical doo-wop intros, and Tom Lehrer's blasphemous "Vatican Rag," offered as a response to what Ms. McGovern on Thursday called her "1950s and '60s Catholic girl experience." Parodying Connie Francis singing "Where the Boys Are," she captured Ms. Francis's overbearing whine while lending the song twice the vocal heft than Ms. Francis ever put into it.

Although nothing rates below a B, most of the songs that get A+'s are those originally composed on piano, especially those by the still under-regarded Jimmy Webb. The exquisite gentleness with which she renders "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" makes its characters in a song he wrote as a teenager sound painfully young and vulnerable. Performing "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," Ms. McGovern holds back until the emotional dam bursts, and she briefly lets the torrents rage before reining the song back in.

Ms. McGovern brings her jazz know-how to Laura Nyro's "And When I Die" and unleashes glimpses of a full-tilt ferocity that suggests that there is a drowsy tiger stirring inside this nice Catholic schoolgirl from Youngstown, Ohio. It is more than she has ever shown before.

Maureen McGovern performs through Feb. 23 at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, Flatiron district; (212) 206-0440, metropolitanroom.com.

Theatermania

February 14, 2008
By Brian Scott Lipton

The term "jukebox musical" may be used pejoratively in theater circles, but to call Maureen McGovern's new Metropolitan Room cabaret act A Long and Winding Road a "jukebox show" is meant only as the highest praise. Over 80 minutes, McGovern uses her prodigious vocal instrument, interpretive skills, and inherent musicality to illuminate nearly two dozen songs written between 1960-1971.

These tunes, by such giants as Carole King, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro and, of course, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, are hallmarks of their era, ranging from precise character studies to gentle fables, from protest anthems to love songs. McGovern not only does them justice, she often paints them in a new light -- as in a light jazz top spin she serves on the Beatles' comical "Rocky Raccoon." Musical director Jeff Harris has pulled together some marvelous arrangements, and he and McGovern get first-rate assistance from bassist Jay Leonhart -- especially on a charming "59th Street Bridge Song."

Early on in the act, which has been co-created and directed by Philip Himberg, McGovern's operatic voice threatens to overwhelm the material -- although at least you can make out all the words to "The Times That Are A-Changin'" -- but she quickly proves her subtletly with a truly gorgeous renditon of "The Circle Game." One wishes she did more of Mitchell's repertoire, based on her stunning takes on the singer-songwriter's little-known anti-war song "The Fiddle and the Drum," and the first verse of "Woodstock."

McGovern's comic chops aren't limited to "Rocky Raccoon." She produces a hilarious vocalese medley titled "Silly 60s Syllalable," and finds the laughs in Tom Lehrer's satiric masterpiece "The Vatican Rag." But McGovern has always been a superb ballad singer, and, not surprisingly, she shines strongly on King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and Taylor's beautiful "Fire and Rain." Still, the true high point of the act comes towards its end as she tackles three Jimmy Webb tunes. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" becomes a perfect three-act play, while a medley of the early section of "MacArthur Park" and "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is simply breathtaking.

I don't think you have to be a "Baby Boomer" like me or McGovern to enjoy or appreciate the journey of this Long and Winding Road, but revisiting one's past is certainly part of the fun!

Maureen McGovern is in town at the Metropolitan Room

By Scott and Barbara Siegel
Talkin' Broadway

Simply put, Maureen McGovern is the Gold Standard in voices. It would seem that the beauty, purity and clarity of her singing is only matched by her exquisite vocal control. Many years ago, she used to come into town and perform and, despite the magnificence of her voice, still get indifferent reviews from us because she just sang notes. Gorgeous notes, but without any feeling behind them. That changed a number of years ago and now, with her new show A Long and Winding Road at the Metropolitan Room that concludes with shows on February 21-23 at 7:30 p.m., she is at the top of her game both musically and personally. Now, not only does she know who she is when she's on stage, so do we. She reveals herself both in her chummy patter and in her songs, virtually all of which are the pop hits upon which many of us including McGovern grew up during the 1960s through the 1980s.

This isn't just a nostalgic journey, it's also a well-constructed act in which the song choices provide a depth and resonance that you might find surprising considering that, at the time they came out, nobody took them seriously. It's instructive, indeed, to hear "Rocky Raccoon" (Paul McCartney) and realize just how clever a song it is, or to hear a less heard ode to Martin Luther King, "Carry it On" (Gil Turner), that was written before the Civil Rights leader was slain.

McGovern is in great voice, and in the full flower of her personality. She is simply fun to be around. She doesn't get to New York that often, so this is an ideal time to see her.

Maureen McGovern A Long Winding Road

February 13, 2008
By Barbara Leavy
Cabaret Scenes

Maureen McGovern is such an established cabaret star that to review one of her shows almost seems redundant. She is lovely and elegant, possessing a magnificent soprano voice whose volume she can progressively raise without sacrificing any of its purity. She can sing a cappella without missing a note; and vocalize the "Silly Syllables" of the '60s as if they were scat. Her patter is smooth and witty, such as her play on a Dylan Thomas poem when she says of her fellow baby boomers that "we will not go gentle into that early bird special." The children of the baby boomers, or at least those able to appreciate their parents' music, might say of her, "She's awesome."

Her show at the Metropolitan Room, A Long and Winding Road (sounds like a song from the '60s) is intended to demonstrate that the songs of Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Carole King, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and others, do indeed make up what the New York Times called the second half of the Great American Songbook. Some of what she sang accompanied by Jeff Harris on piano and Jay Leonhart on bass was very familiar, such as "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," others such as "Rocky Raccoon" less so, although the audience on the evening we caught the show sang along. It was clearly nostalgia night.

But, as the title of one of her songs proclaims, "The Times They Are a Changin'." As someone who started out as a folk singer, McGovern has created a show out of the music of her youth, songs loved by those born, as she was, between 1946 and 1964. In terms of music history, this is a very short period of time, and it is not clear that these songs can claim to constitute as much as half of the Great American Songbook. And it is possible to ask whether too much of the show rests on nostalgia. There will be those who will want to hear McGovern sing the first half of the songbook, as they have heard her before; and those used to a rougher world than the phrases "far out" and "groovy" are adequate to describe, for whom Neil Sedaka will seem as antiquated as Cole Porter, and just about as enthralling.

Still, for the nostalgia, for the songs, many of which are wonderful, and most of all for McGovern, catch this show! It will return to The Metropolitan Room on February 21-23 at 7:30 pm.

Maureen McGovern
Star of 'A Long and Winding Road'

Feb. 18, 2008
By VARIETY STAFF

Maureen McGovern, chanteuse who will perform songs by Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb and Randy Newman in "A Long and Winding Road" running Feb. 21-23 at the Metropolitan Room in Gotham.

Book I'm reading:
"No Time to Lose" by Pema Chodron

Total number of books I own:
Let's just say -- I should have a wing dedicated to me at Barnes & Noble.

Last film I saw:
"Atonement," directed by Joe Wright and "No Country for Old Men," directed by Joel and Ethan Coen -- a double-header.

Who do you think is the best actor in Hollywood at the moment? (male or female)
Cate Blanchett; Meryl Streep; Denzel Washington; Daniel Day-Lewis; Russell Crowe; Ralph Fiennes; Tom Hanks; George Clooney; Angelina Jolie; Halle Berry. . .too many great actors to pick just one!

If you could play any real-life person in a movie, who would it be and why?:
Georgia O'Keefe -- solitary, interesting life, brilliant artist

Song currently playing in my iPod:
Don't own one -- I'm still in the dark ages

Three songs that mean a lot to me:
"Amelia"
"Skylark"v"The Moon's a Harsh Mistress"

Ever feel that certain song lyrics were written with you in mind? What are they?:
Joni Mitchell's catalogue. She speaks to the very soul of women

Concert that changed your life:
Joni Mitchell at the Greek Theatre and Bette Midler at the Roxy, late '70s

Guilty pleasures:
* TV: LOVE "Boston Legal, ""Brothers & Sisters," "Keith Olbermann," "Jon Stewart," "The Colbert Report"
* Film: Vintage films of the '30s, '40s, '50s; also Jacques Tati films
* Reading material: Cookbooks -- don't cook, but love the books; photography books

Best hangover remedy?:
Don't drink too much!

What's the biggest upside of the Internet and what is its biggest downside?:
Instant information -- but not always accurate

What advice would you give to someone trying to break into your profession?
Have unfailing faith in yourself -- imperative -- and NEVER GIVE UP!!

Do you have a dream project?:
To take my "Works of Heart" Foundation for Music & Healing global

What helps you get out of bed in the morning?:
Hannah and Rocky, my Silkie and Yorkie Terriers. Can't be a bad day if the first thing you see is happy puppy faces!!

Who was your celebrity crush growing up?
Paul McCartney, Cary Grant, Newman and Redford

Are there any activities you do to make you feel un-famous?
Cleaning up puppy messes -- charming!!

Would you rather see a Lakers game next to Jack Nicholson or a Knicks game next to Spike Lee?:
I'd rather see a movie next to George Clooney

What is the single worst purchase you've made in the past year?:
I made wise and penurious choices last year. However, in 1974 -- a Mellotron -- don't ask!!

What is the real reason behind answering these questions?:
My press agent made me do it!! :)

Maureen receives The Imagination Award for her philanthropic work

Imagination Stage Gala 2007 (October 15, 2007)
Photo by Imagination Stage Photo Credit: Allen Santos Photography Imagination Award recipient Maureen McGovern and Master of Ceremonies Mo Rocca pose for the Camera.

Maureen McGovern, Grammy Nominee, Broadway, concert and recording artist, whose 35 year career began with the Oscar winning, International Gold Record, THE MORNING AFTER, was honored on October 13, 2007, by receiving the third Imagination Award for her work with children, the arts and philanthropy from Imagination Stage, Bethesda, MD. Previous recipients were Marion Wright Edelman and Jane Goodall. The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, was Honorary Chairperson for the event and actor/writer/satirist, Mo Rocca, was Special Guest Alumnus and Master of Ceremonies.

Maureen's current releases, HELP IS ON THE WAY (in partnership with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids) and WORKS OF HEART, launched the Maureen McGovern "Works of Heart" Foundation for Music and Healing.