Night Clubs Reviews

Feb 18, 2008 - Singer Kevin Spirtas debuts in Reno as part of the Silver Star American Songbook Series

By Jack Neal

The talented Broadway singer Kevin Spirtas performed at Reno’s Peppermill Hotel Casino Saturday night (2/16/08). He was presented by Silver Star Productions as part of the company’s American Songbook series. Silver Star presentations are sophisticated, yet accessible, nightclub live-performance events, that are catching on with the public, and for the best of reasons - these are very special events.

Looking a decade younger than the forty-something he is, Spirtas - recently the standby in New York for Hugh Jackman in “The Boy from Oz” - got his Broadway start at 18 in “A Chorus Line.” Clearly a show-business song and dance man, Spirtas sailed through nearly two-dozen songs, most of them popular standards.

He’s a gifted entertainer, moves well, sings wonderfully and works very hard to please. It’s the works-hard-to-please part that drains his attempts to connect with his audience. Instead of genuine warmth, he tends to smother with a stage presence that’s too practiced. That push to please, plus excessive sound levels (something the series has not experienced before) greatly diminished what could have been a terrific evening of Broadway show tunes and personal inside stories.

His stage persona is a reminder of something Alan Pakula said years ago about Liza Minnelli’s performance in his film “The Sterile Cuckoo.” “Your face registers everything," Pekula said to Minnelli. "Just cut what you do in half and you’ll be perfect.” For Spirtas there’s more than just a mere connection with the stage persona of Liza Minnelli. His is the exuberance of Minnelli and the magic of Peter Allen, who worked with Judy Garland, married Minnelli, then created “The Boy from Oz.” Then it was standby time for Spirtas in “The Boy from Oz.” What Spirtas does comes naturally. If he cuts most of what he does in half he’ll be a first-rate nightclub attraction.

Opening with a robust (those pesky sound levels) “Night and Day,” with a nod and a salute to “That Old Devil Moon,” the singer brought considerable lung power and chutzpah to “The Rain in Spain,” “Nothin’ Like a Dame,” “Oklahoma,” “I Can Do That,” “Music of the Night,” and a host of others before arriving comfortably home with Peter Allen Songs from “The Boy From Oz.”

“The Boy from Oz,” segment was smooth, if not memorable. It was a ballad by Cy Coleman at the end of the show that gave Spirtas the quiet moment to sell what he does best – sing songs of love quietly with just a tinge of poignancy. No need to cringe over sound levels, just a chance to enjoy a quiet lyric wrapped around a lovely melody of love and longing. The song may have ended, but that lovely moment lingers on.

Pianist John Boswell was the accompanist-collaborator for the Kevin Spirtas Show. His contribution was nothing less than terrific.

Up next for Silver Star Productions is Mary Cleere Haran singing the songs of Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Dorothy Fields (and others) March 15 (2008) at the Peppermill Hotel Casino, 2707 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada. For information and reservations call 775-851-1638 or go online at www.silverstarprod.com.