By Blake Green
For ther part, the red-haired. McGovern is once again out to wow
audiences with her "instrument," a thrilling, powerhouse voice thats
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.
The Ohio-bom singer, who lived on the Upper West Side for years,
has been based on the other coast for the past couple of years and
is crowing about how nice it is to be back. She opens and closes her
show with Betty Comden and Adolph Green-Leonard Bernstein compositions,
"Lucky to Be Me" and "Some Other Time," written for musicals about
New York.
"I wanted to do more film and television," said McGovern, explaining
her geograpical move– although she says she spends most of her
time on the road, most recently in Florida where she starred in the
premiere of "The Bengal Tiger's Ball," a children's musical she
wrote. Disney was a co-sponsor. "I've been writing children's music
for 20 years," she said about just one of the "turns" her life has
taken since singing the Oscar-winning "The Morning After" on the soundtrack
for 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure."
McGovern turns 50 this summer and she jokes about it in her show,
making reference to hot flashes just before she swings into "Fever."
