THE HANGOVER REPORT – The fabulous Lillias White re-opens GR42 and welcomes back in-person cabaret at long last with a rousing, upbeat set

Lillias White reopens the Green Room 42.

This past weekend marked the first time that performance venues were allowed to present live shows since the pandemic hit. Among the first establishments to participate in this cautious reopening after practically a year without any indoor, in-person performances – Birdland Jazz Club was valiantly but briefly open for business in the fall – was the Green Room 42 (others to open their doors this weekend included The Shed in Hudson Yards and the Comedy Cellar in the Village). Reopening the Midtown cabaret venue for two performances only was the fabulous Lillias White – a Tony-winner for her sassy performance in The Life and a powerful presence in Fela! – who also originally christened the room not too long ago in 2017 when the venue first opened.

In short, Ms. White was a joy to watch as she single-handedly ushered in-person cabaret back to the city. The musical theater star was greeted by the starved audience (I recognized many familiar faces from my many nights at cabaret clubs around the city over the years) with a heartfelt standing ovation, and that enthusiasm was maintained throughout her hourlong set. Ms. White looked and sounded fantastic, with her sweet-and-brassy instrument very much still intact. Her innate sense of soul injected her eclectic set – which included a good handful of jazz standards and a welcome Broadway medley – with a rousing immediacy that I’ve been craving for a very long time. The irrepressible and endearing Tony-winner smartly kept the banter upbeat, a refreshing shift in tone for many of us and a much-needed reminder that good days are ahead of us.

Cabaret venues are typically cramped, often times subterranean – which are great for atmospherics but certainly not the most ideal environments to safely present performances these Covid-conscious days. Happily, the Green Room 42 has turned what once was a strike against it – name, its bland, ballroom-like space on the fourth floor of a modern hotel – into a strong advantage. I felt safe throughout the evening (understandably, there was no food and beverage service), and the spacious room was easily able to accommodate the currently mandated 33% capacity limit without feeling overcrowded in the least. I look forward to attending cabaret shows at “GR42” in the coming months as we slowly but surely crawl our way out of pandemic life.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

LILLIAS WHITE
Cabaret
The Green Room 42
1 hour
Closed (although Lillias’s run has ended, the cabaret venue continues to present in-person shows)

Categories: Cabaret

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