December, 2000 Issue
Review By Peter Leavy

"Maureen McGovern's WITH A SONG IN MY HEART at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room was an appealing and multi-faceted presentation of the music of Richard Rodgers.

So much of the Rodgers songbook is familiar that much of the success of this show must go to McGovern's fresh interpretations and musical director Jeff Harris's supportive arrangements.

Click here for Peter Leavy's complete review

Torme Is Best Part of Star-Filled Tribute
By DON HECKMAN
LA TIMES

"Who's the best choice to star in a tribute to Mel Torme? Maureen McGovern, for sure, since she performed with Torme on dozens of concerts.. . .

A talent display of that magnitude was tough competition--even on video. But McGovern was up to the task, singing with astonishing musical facility. Her scatting on "I'm Late" and "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" was astounding. And her a cappella rendering of "Skylark" (a tune some singers have difficulty delivering in tune even with accompaniment) was both a musical and a storytelling tour de force. Torme would have loved every minute of her presentation"

A TRIBUTE TO MEL
By Richard S. Ginell,
VARIETY Review

"...it's hard to think of a single song that he "owned" per se (his composition "The Christmas Song" comes closest, but that's associated more with Nat Cole).

One solution was to have a virtual Mel right there with us via several entertaining historic film collages and video performances on giant video screens flanking the shell. Unlike other icons whose best years were captured only in scratchy-sounding, faded black-and-white images, Torme was lucky enough to have lived into the digital era, still singing in top form -- indeed, he got better as he aged -- so his later performances had a startling vibrancy. With Torme singing "The Christmas Song" onscreen to a gorgeous string/wind arrangement and Maureen McGovern weaving around his lines live onstage, this virtual duet seemed achingly real, uncontrived."

Lively Arts
David Wiegand • San Francisco Chronicle • August 9, 2000

MORNING COAT: It was inevitable. When Maureen McGovern walked into the Plush Room prior to her debut there last week, she took one look at that stained-glass ceiling and wondered if Shelley Winters would come careening through at any minute. McGovern, of course, is best known for singing ``There's Got to Be a Morning After'' in the 1972 disaster film ``The Poseidon Adventure,'' in which the formidable Ms. Winters swam underwater for about half an hour and then promptly died. McGovern's career was cemented for many mornings after with the film's theme song, but she didn't sing it on opening night at the Plush Room. Maybe she will at her final show Sunday. McGovern, who recently turned 51, loves the room and hopes there'll be an ``evening after'' for a future gig.

Wondrous soprano gets better
By Philip Elwood • Examiner Music Critic • August 3, 2000

"MAUREEN McGovern, one of the classiest singers around, is currently celebrating her 27 years in show business by singing her way around the nation's cabaret circuit. I'm going to disappoint those who feel that it's a critic's job to criticize, since McGovern's Tuesday performance was beyond - well, nearly beyond - reproach.

McGovern's Performance Is Anything But a Disaster
Catherine Reese Newton • The Salt Lake Tribune • July 16, 2000

"The highlight of the high-powered show, however, was McGovern's stunning "unplugged" rendition of "Over the Rainbow." With no microphone or accompaniment, her clear soprano filled the hall, beautifully shaded and impeccably on pitch. She finished with an exquisite pianissimo that would have done Montserrat Caballe proud."

McGovern swings, 'scats' with symphony
By Rebecca Cline • Deseret News • July 15, 2000

"Friday night's performance with the Utah Symphony proved McGovern not only to be a consummate singer, but a consummate entertainer as well. Focusing mostly on big-band hits from the '40s McGovern sang and swung with amazing vocal ability and personal pizazz."

McGovern's singing commands attention
by Ann Le Bar • Spokane.Net• April 11, 2000

. . ."and then McGovern's voice rose all alone from the stage. She was singing "Somewhere, Over the Rainbow," a capella and unmiked. From my seat at the back of the enormous hall, I felt the audience fall absolutely silent, its attention riveted on McGovern's incredible voice."

'Morning After' just a day in long career
by Rick Rogers • THE OKLAHOMAN • March 19, 2000

"McGovern admits she'll be forever grateful for the chance to record the enormous hit single from the 1972 disaster film "The Poseidon Adventure." But she wants people to know that she's moved far beyond that point career-wise.

. . .Today, McGovern's repertoire reflects that choice and often features an eclectic group of musical styles. Even so, she's very choosy about what she programs, typically seeking works with which she can connect on more than just a superficial level."

"Sit back in a booth and hear how McGovern, coming to Philadelphia Sunday and Monday (and again March 19 and 20) to sing with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, put her own personal disaster movie behind her and found happiness singing not just pop tunes but a broad repertoire of Broadway, classical and jazz."

Pictured is her adopted companion, Miss Hannah Kelly Tessitura, a 16 month old Silkie/Scottie/Yorkie terrier.

Over 10,000 enjoy
The United States Army Band
at DAR Constitution Hall
ARMY BANDS HEADLINES - February 1, 2000

More than 10,000 people packed DAR Constitution Hall December 11 and 12, 1999 to see "A Holiday Festival" featuring Maureen McGovern and members of The U.S. Army Orchestra, Chorus, Chorale and Herald Trumpets.

With a beautiful holiday setting each of three sold out performances was a showcase of the wide range of talent exhibited by U.S. Army Band members. "It's the best Christmas show in town," said one patron. "We come every year because the season isn't complete without this wonderful show."

"The estimable Maureen McGovern whacked 'em pretty good with "Sooner or Later," which would have been a showstopper in "Dick Tracy" had that show ever gotten moving, and brought a standing ovation in this one."

"Looking for a Different 'Side' of Sondheim"
By Don Heckman • Special to The LA Times • January 24, 2000

McGovern found the essence of a rare Sondheim torch-type song, "Sooner or Later," and combined brilliantly with Daniels on "Anyone Can Whistle."

"PLAY THE MELODY ONCE"
Jazz musicians riff on the theater music of Stephen Sondheim
by Nicole Cavanzos • PERFORMING ARTS Magazine • January 2000 Edition

MUSIC REVIEW
A Jimmy Van Heusen Program:
Up There, Where the Air Is Rarefied
October 19, 1999

"Of the performers who appeared on Friday, the only one to find a comfortable blend of the elevated and the casual was Maureen McGovern, whose beautifully articulated but relaxed versions of "Call Me Irresponsible," "It Could Happen to You" and "Suddenly It's Spring" found the songs' romantic essence."

August, 1999 Issue
Review By Peter Leavy

"Almost from the moment this striking, red haired performer edged through the tables at the Algonquin's Oak Room, took up the mike and sang Comden/Green /Bernstein's "Lucky To Be Me", there was little doubt the audience was in the hands-completely in the hands--of a masterful entertainer. By the time she'd followed her opener with "Nice and Easy"and turned up the heat with "Fever", Maureen McGovern owned the room and everyone in it. "

THE NEW YORK OBSERVER • June 7, 1999

Lots More From McGovern
Quieter, more wistful and contemplative than IÕve ever heard her, Ms. McGovern is at the top of her form in this engagement. No dynamic inner struggle, no showy theatrics, no attempt to reinvent her material in her own image; she just gives you the songs, beautifully and directly, leaving you wanting more.

With a Cool Temperament, Giving Warmth to Standards
Demure, polite, blessed with near perfect intonation and a coloratura register that is as precisely deployed as it is flexible, Maureen McGovern is the very model of a cabaret singer who moves comfortably from conservative jazz to soaring movie themes, from classic pop standards to operetta.

Algonquin Review from NEWSDAY
by Blake Green • May 1999

For their part, the red-haired McGovern is once again out to wow audiences with her "instrument," a thrilling, powerhouse voice that's particularly impressive in unusual (for cabaret) selections such as her "wordless vocalese" of Ellington's "On a Turquoise Cloud," and an a cappella rendition of "Skylark" ("my favorite Hoagy Carmichael song") refreshingly sung without amplification.

"Maureen McGovern's opening night performance, August 18 at the Midway Stage at the 1776 Steak House, was a joyous and wonderful evening of musical entertainment. . .In all, Maureen McGovern's performance was just the kind of knock-out cabaret evening we have been longing for at the beach."

Maureen McGovern
Maureen McGovern soars with medleys
By Allan Howie • The Courier-Journal • Reviewed Feb. 21, 1999
Louisville Scene

"With no microphone and bathed in a single spotlight, McGovern offered an a cappella version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." And a dazzling "Ordinary Miracles" proved that, if it's a show-stopper you want, Maureen McGovern can certainly deliver the goods".

December 28, 1997
Top Ten Headliner List - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Maureen McGovern -- Still an underrated singer with amazing vocal gifts, McGovern anchored Boulder Station's "Cabaret Series" with Marvin Hamlisch and Diane Schuur. And no surprise, McGovern's talent and pleasant stage presence earned her a spot among the year's best headliners.

McGovern shows she's tops of Pops
Powerful voice, showbiz savvy wow crowd

The Symphony Pops concert: Programmed for purely economic reasons, these concerts showcase a star with a backup band and lots of 64-bar rests for the resident musicians. Perhaps no Pops visitor has ever employed the MSO more fully or melded with it better.

Contemporary movie music: Usually aural wallpaper, it's contrived to inspire emotion that weak scripts can't evoke. The songs are constructed to sell generally dismal soundtrack albums. When it goes on the remainder rack, so do they.

But movie songs have played a big role in McGovern's career and continue to. They put her on the record charts, quite an achievement with a voice as legit as hers. Entertaining 1,732 satisfied customers in Uihlein Hall, she paid a long homage to some of the better movie music. Deadline prompted an early departure.

McGovern's voice is large, luscious and theatrical in the Streisand/Garland manner, with a range from here to approximately Hale-Bopp. But she's savvy and secure enough not to bury us in firepower, even when delivering "Over the Rainbow" sans accompaniment or microphone. So sure is her control that, for effect, she can smear a note off pitch, on and back off again way up there at any tempo.

For this weekend's program, she's mostly in a lyrical mood with strong backup. On Legrand's metaphoric "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" she and tenor saxophonist Tim Bell played romantic tag. On Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind," soprano sax man David Jones slithered around her lead.

All McGovern performances include stratospheric scatting, and "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" included some unison flying with vibraharpist Linda Siegel.

McGovern's pianist, Lee Musiker, conducted from the bench as if he'd grown up with the orchestra with solid help from MSO bassist David Stallsmith and drummer Steve Houghton, formerly of Kenosha.

A frequent Milwaukee visitor who is comfortable here, McGovern turned the cavernous hall into a recital room, or -- when her patter got show-bizzy -- into a Las Vegas lounge.

February 1997

Maureen McGovern
McGovern at the Cinegrill:A Tone Worth Remembering

by Don Heckman

Excerpted from an article appearing in the Lost Angeles Times

Maureen McGovern's opening night at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill was a musical triumph. If there's a singer on the planet who can perform material from the great American pop songbook any better than she can, it's hard to imagine whom it might be.
Working before a packed house on Tuesday that included members of the Society of Singers (the performance was a benefit for the organization,) McGovern presented a set of film-oriented songs in a performance titled "My 'Reel' Romance With the Movies." And it didn't matter whether the tunes were older standards, lightweight fluff, or newer ballads. Everything emerged with superb musicality, a ravishing tone and intelligent interpretation of lyrics.

She sang "The Boy Next Door" with a simple, down-to-earth winsome quality that belied the extraordinary skill involved in producing pure, pianissimo head tones; she did "Over the Rainbow" a capella, without benefit of a microphone and kept her listeners spellbound. In a medley of songs with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, she found the intimate centers of numbers such as "How do You Keep the Music Playing" and the verbally intricate "Windmills of Your Mind."

At one point, in one of the Bergman tunes, she suddenly forgot a line. Looking out, she appealed for help from Alan Bergman, who was in the audience. Bergman hesitated for a moment, then called back, with a somewhat embarrassed laugh, "I can't remember it either." But it was no problem for the professional McGovern, who shared the laugh with Bergman and moved on to the next tune.

McGovern clearly has the ability to do just about anything she wants. What makes her special is that she uses that skill at the service of the most essential requirement of good singing: telling a musical story that engages and captivates an audience. Since McGovern rarely works in venues as small as the Cinegrill, her appearance this week provides a rare opportunity to hear what it takes to be a world-class vocal artist...