Adrienne Haan, Cabaret Singer; Richard Danley, Musical Director, Pianist, and Arranger;

Script by Laurence Pierron; Peter Martin, Producer

The Triad Theater, New York, NY

December 7th, 2018

Adrienne Haan is not only a highly gifted cabaret singer, but she is one of the most versatile that this listener has heard. She has been reviewed (and favorably) several times in New York Concert Review, but this reviewer heard her for the first time this past Friday at the Triad Theater in a show about the life and work of Irving Berlin. It was, to sum it up, a hit. Striding charismatically onstage in a glittering minidress, Ms. Haan proved herself, in an hour-plus of songs, medleys, and anecdotes, to be the consummate entertainer. She drew upon a wide range of singing gifts, from purest high notes at lyrical moments right down to a guttural comedic growl in the rowdier ones. She also proved to be a natural raconteuse.

The reason for the occasion (not that one needs a reason!) is that this year marks the 130^th anniversary of the birth of Irving Berlin (1888-1989), one of America’s most celebrated songwriters. As Ms. Haan quoted Jerome Kern as saying, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music.” Composer of well over a thousand songs and the scores for several dozen original Broadway Shows and Hollywood films, Berlin may be best remembered for his beloved song White Christmas (from the 1954 film of the same name). It was thus an apt title for this show paying tribute to him as Christmas approaches. Ms. Haan sang around six songs from White Christmas towards the end of the program, including Count your Blessings Instead of Sheep (given an especially sweet delivery) along with a medley that included Happy Holiday, Let Yourself Go, Snow, and I’ve Got Love to Keep Me Warm. Concluding the set was White Christmas itself, for which she invited the audience to join the singing. It was a touching and generous gesture, even if there were some atonal contributions to Ms. Haan’s beautiful singing.

Throughout the show, Ms. Haan seamlessly wove details of Berlin’s life into the string of fifteen or so songs and medleys – a balance of vignettes, some heart-rending and some amusing. Though credit was given to a script-writer, Laurence Pierron, who presumably provided much of the rich biographical detail, Ms. Haan clearly made the show her own with impromptu touches. From the very opening number, There’s No Business Like Show Business (from Annie Get Your Gun, 1946), she showed she not only can sing, but she can move gracefully across the stage and spontaneously through the audience. Alexander’s Ragtime Band (Irving Berlin’s first international hit song composed in 1911) found Ms. Haan flirting with a handsome audience member (whom she dubbed one of her “victims”) and bringing him up to the stage. She spiced up her performances of The Hostess with the Mostes’ and Lichtenburg (both from Call Me Madam, 1950) with colorful descriptions of Perle Mesta (Berlin’s inspiration for the show) and followed the mock discovery of some risqué undergarments in the audience with the quip, “Diplomats! – kinky as hell.” There certainly wasn’t a dull moment.

Those wanting to hear the more familiar Irving Berlin output enjoyed a Hollywood/Broadway Medley that included the rhythmically energetic Blue Skies (from The Jazz Singer) and a warmly romantic renditions of Cheek to Cheek (from Top Hat) and They Say It’s Wonderful (from Annie Get Your Gun). Ms. Haan’s delivery of I Got the Sun in the Morning (also from Annie Get Your Gun) had particular gusto in the opening declarations of “got no diamonds, got no pearls.” Ms. Haan is a singer with an impressive range of registers, moods, and accents. Knowing of her German/Luxembourgian background, one is not surprised by her grasp of European languages (and she will be performing Kurt Weill in her upcoming season, having frequently performed German cabaret); her versatility with regional American accents, though, was a pleasant surprise.

Also quite familiar was the song Always, presented to Berlin’s wife Ellin McKay on their wedding day. Always is a song that has not only enjoyed popularity but also occasionally suffered from it. Trotted out ad nauseam by those of the “pitch and tone quality optional” schools of music, the song was at one point a cue for this musician to leave the room. Thankfully, Ms. Haan’s performance redeemed it from the realm of all things cornball, and this listener found herself appreciating its beauty once again.

It should be stressed that, despite the antics used to guarantee the attention of even the most attention-deficient audience, Ms. Haan possesses serious excellence as a musician. Her pitch was surefire throughout, and her vibrato, while ample, never obscured the music. She showed sensitivity to the harmonies throughout, especially in pairings with excellent pianist Richard Danley, who also sang quite beautifully with her in several songs.

There was only one song in the show not by Irving Berlin, and that was Oyfn Pripetchik (On the Hearth, song & lyrics by Mark Warshawsky (1848-1907). Sung in Yiddish, it was Ms. Haan’s tribute to Mr. Berlin’s origins as Israel Beilin, born in the shtetl of Tolochin in the Russian Empire (now in Belarus). It was a hauntingly beautiful performance. Also relating to the immigrant experience was Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor (from the 1949 musical Miss Liberty).

As part of what might be termed a “novelty” category, Marie from Sunny Italy was included, Berlin’s first published song from 1907. It was a great excuse for all sorts of mugging from Ms. Haan, as well as some fun pairing with Mr. Danley. Also included were several songs of a military nature, reminding one that Mr. Berlin had been drafted during World War One, an experience which had inspired the show Yip Yip Yaphank (1918), including the number, Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning. The latter, complete with mimicked bugle reveille was sung with humor and spirit, as was the later song This is the Army, Mr. Jones (from This is the Army, 1942).

Mr. Berlin’s patriotism was strong to a degree many today find implausible, and that was evident as Ms. Haan sang the song that he had composed for the IRS entitled I Paid My Income Tax Today (1942) – and for which he assigned all royalties to the United States Treasury Department! The text of this song expresses an almost jubilant pride in paying this nation’s taxes (including supporting US efforts in World War Two), but its overzealousness – somewhat predictably – took on a cartoonish cast with this modern-day audience. Ms. Haan played on the reaction with exaggerated zest, much to everyone’s amusement. Times have changed.

What has withstood the test of time much better is Berlin’s God Bless America, another song originally written for Yip Yip Yaphank in 1918 but only introduced some twenty years later. Ms. Haan sang it for an encore, and it was stirring, a moving ending to a memorable evening.

Ms. Haan repeats the show Monday, December 10, at the Triad – those able to obtain a seat will not be disappointed!

Adrienne Haan, Cabaret Singer

Richard Danley, Musical Director

Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks

Joe’s Pub, New York, NY

October 17, 2018

Cosmopolitan actress and singer Adrienne Haan presented her exciting, stimulating, and inspiring show, Voluptuous Weimar – A Tribute To Berlin’s Golden Age at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan for a one night engagement on Wednesday, October 17 to an enthusiastic packed house. Accompanying Ms. Haan was not only her superb musical director/ pianist Richard Danley, but the astounding Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks. Ms. Haan made her entrance onstage to thunderous applause. In true Weimar fashion, she wore a sleeveless, shimmering short red dress. In addition, she sported a very short hair style with a headband complete with a beauty mark and accentuated eye makeup. Ms. Haan began her program with the very bouncy yet topical song Alles Schwindel (It’s All a Swindle). In that opening number, Ms. Haan quickly ingratiated herself with the audience not only with her beauty and charm and her wide, diverse vocal range, but also with her complete knowledge and understanding of the material she was interpreting. In that opening song, one heard her lovely soprano voice, but she also proved that she could project that well-known guttural sound so associated with legendary artists as Marlene Dietrich and Edith Piaf. Immediately after finishing the song, Ms. Haan smoothly segued into her next number, Sex Appeal , by giving a brief description as to what the theme of her show was about – Berlin’s Golden Age beginning directly after the first World War in 1918 when Germany’s economy collapsed. By 1923 the situation became so desperate that decadence became more prominent in Berlin. Social and sexual values were changing and, in Ms. Haan’s words, “millionaires had become paupers”.

Then by the mid-1920’s, the women’s movement and the gay movement had made their presence well-known in Berlin, especially in the artistic world where creative geniuses like Kurt Weill, Fritz Lang, and Josef Von Sternberg were flourishing. She then sang Ich bin die fesch Lola (They call me naughty Lola), the Friedrich Hollaender song made famous by Marlene Dietrich in the classic 1930 Von Sternberg film The Blue Angel. In her version, Ms. Haan began the song with a slow tempo and then gradually drifted into the more rowdy way audiences were used to hearing Dietrich sing it. Ms. Haan then sang what later became Dietrich’s most famous song, Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt (Falling in Love Again), also from The Blue Angel, while seductively sidling up to her pianist Richard Danley on the piano bench. She began the song in sprechgesang (spoken singing) form, and then when she reached the chorus she sang it full-out in German and English. Saxophonist Dan Levinson and violinist Andy Stein were featured very effectively in this number. The next song, Jonny, wenn du Geburtstag hast was also written by Hollaender for Dietrich. In setting up the song, Ms. Haan said that by the early thirties, Berliners loved anything American – Jazz, Josephine Baker, and Hollywood, particularly Johnny Weismuller. As a result, at that time, all Berlin girls called their lovers “Jonny”. In her interpretation of the song, Ms. Haan blithely walked through the audience like a charming free spirit and playfully flirted with a few men by kissing them or playfully tousling their hair. She also sang the song in both German and English.

Before singing Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies, Ms. Haan mentioned that Josephine Baker’s recording of that song was so popular that it resonated throughout France and Germany, and was played in all of the dance halls in both countries. It was a lovely upbeat version with Vince Giordano, himself beautifully soloing on bass saxophone. She followed up with another Irving Berlin song, Cheek to Cheek. In both songs, Ms. Haan’s lovely soprano voice was beautifully showcased. Note: Even though Ms. Haan saluted both Dietrich and Baker by singing their songs or songs they made popular, she wisely made no attempt at imitation, but made each selection her very own. She then mentioned that in 1932, when Cole Porter’s song Night and Day reached Germany, it became very popular in Berlin. Her rendition evoked not only the lovely lush melody that was so representative of the early thirties, but also the impending shadow of Nazism that was just about to take over Germany and, later, most of Europe. For the novelty song, Ich bin ein Vamp (I am a Vamp) , Ms. Haan referred to the big cabaret club in Berlin in the 1930’s, El Dorado. It was there she said that one looked for the pleasures of “one night”. Another Friedrich Hollaender number written for Dietrich, Ich Weiss nicht zu wem ich gehore (I don’t know who I belong to), was a lovely torch song in which Ms. Haan again showed off her fine range and dramatic talents.

Then in a complete change of pace, Ms. Haan, Mr. Danley, and Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks pulled out all the stops with a dynamite version of the classic Big Band number Sing, Sing, Sing. Before presenting this song, Ms. Haan revealed that the German youths admired anything American and British, and this number proved to be so popular that when the song reached Berlin in 1939, the Swing Youth Group was formed in Hamburg, however the group had to be circumspect and kept “underground,” because any swing music was considered Entartete Musik (degenerate music) in Nazi Germany. In her interpretation of this number, Ms. Haan sparkled, bubbled, shimmied, and percolated all over the stage with sex appeal and sensual abandon looking like she was ready to explode with excitement. The number also showcased Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks especially the marvelous Paul Wells doing masterful work on percussion. It was electrifying. Ms. Haan and the musicians followed that volcanic excitement with a delightful treatment of the 1932 song Bei mir bistu shein with Ms. Haan singing in both German and English. This was another song that was embraced by the Swing Youth Group, who were captivated by the Andrews Sisters’s recording. In Ms. Haan’s hands, the number was not only of one of the many highlights of the evening, but was also a wonderful showcase for trumpeter Mike Ponella.

In singing These Foolish Things, Ms. Haan said the song was also very much a favorite of the Swing Youth Group. She sang it very soulfully, digging deep into its lyrics and showing the tenderness, longing, and beauty in the song. It was very moving and touching – and thankfully, quite original!!

Puttin’ On The Ritz proved to be the perfect ending to an enchanting, enlightening, and overall, a most enjoyable and entertaining evening of cabaret. It was a fun version with Ms. Haan and her musicians obviously enjoying themselves and each other. For her encore, Ms. Haan sang another song strongly associated with Marlene Dietrich, Lili Marleen (later Lili Marlene). However it was not originally written for Dietrich. The music was actually composed during World War I and the lyrics were not written until 1938 on the eve of World War II. In her many appearances entertaining the troops during World War II and later in her concerts, it became Dietrich’s second most popular song next to Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt (Falling in Love Again). Again, Ms. Haan made her version of this song her very own and sang it with the right amount of love sentiment, sadness, and hope.

Kudos to Richard Danley and Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks for their brilliant accompaniment and musicianship. And most of all, huge kudos to Adrienne Haan for giving us so much pleasure and joy in the wonderful songs she sang and for her superb artistry as a sterling and riveting cabaret performer. I do hope that Joe’s Pub brings this inspired and innovative show back again. More!! More!! Bravo!!

Richard Holbrook for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Adrienne Haan presents Between Fire and Ice—A Diabolical Weimar Berlin Cabaret

Adrienne Haan, chanteuse

Feinstein’s/54 Below, New York, NY

February 22, 2017

Adrienne Haan brought her unique passion for and devotion to the cabaret repertoire of 1920/30s Germany to the elegant room that is Feinstein’s/54 Below on February 22, 2017. In the several times I’ve heard her, her art has deepened—that includes this occasion in particular. Never have the bawdy, politically-charged themes of the material seemed more apposite, given the recent political shifts and conflicts here and abroad. Plus ça change.

She sang a generous program, and one would never have known, until she announced it, that she was appearing with a last-minute substitute pianist: the excellent Howard Breitbart ( her usual music director, Richard Danley, had a medical emergency). Their coordination was superb; she has appeared with Mr. Breitbart in Washington, D.C. previously, though not with this program.

Tonight, she brought extra undertones of sadness and fragility to her renditions. She sang a great deal in English, often turning to German for the refrains once the song was familiar. I assume this was done to increase the understanding of the largely monolingual audience. I found her instantly more expressive and idiomatic in her native German (true of classical art-song singers as well). She has precedent in that no less severe a figure than Arnold Schoenberg wanted his vocal works performed in the language of the audience.

Ms. Haan opened with the wonderful anthem to corruption “Alles Schwindel” (It’s All a Swindle). She never allowed her contemporary opinions to become heavy-handed to the point of making her evening unentertaining, but it was clear where she stood at all times. She circulated among the audience playfully, ruffling the hair on the heads of a few men, and, to be fair, sitting on the lap of a woman as well, during her saucier numbers. All this was done with the great ease of a natural performer. Her patter between songs was effective without being over-long.

Other highlights included: “Ich weiss nicht zu wem ich gehöre” (I Don’t Know Who I Belong To), “Medley zur Emanzipation der Frau” (Medley to the Emancipation of Woman), “Das Lila Lied/Maskulinum-Femininum” (The Lavender Song/Masculine-Feminine), and a forceful, haunting account of Kurt Weill’s well-known “Seeräuberjenny” (Pirate Jenny). In Ms. Haan’s tributes to Marlene Dietrich, such as “Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe Eingestellt” (Falling in Love Again), she sang expressively, but without the weary “used-up” quality that Dietrich could summon so effortlessly.

A well-deserved encore was the staple “Lili Marlene,” with its own complicated history: words, by a WWI trench soldier, set to music only in 1938 on the eve of the next world war, which became an anthem of sorts for soldiers of both sides. At the risk of repeating myself, my wish-list for Ms. Haan would be for her to delve more deeply into the bitterness, anger, even fear, of this era (she came closest in the Pirate Jenny, which was spooky); and seek out more unusual repertoire to weave into her narrative. Nevertheless, she provides a wonderfully committed, very engaging window into this specialized world, one whose message we must never forget. Chapeau, Adrienne!