Cabaret Reviews : B.J. Ward Displays Cabaret Versatility at Gardenia Club

Singer/actress B.J. Ward, the voice-over profession’s most gifted contribution to cabaret, returned to Tom Rolla’s Gardenia Club Friday night for one of her occasional local appearances.

Versatility has been the bedrock of Ward’s acting career as the off-screen voice for everything from Saturday morning cartoon creatures to commercial announcements and, most recently, as one of the characters in KWVE’s innovative station breaks.

Her cabaret work reflects this versatility--an almost chameleon-like capacity to move from one musical style to another, from light comedy to heartbreak torch songs. On first hearing, her impeccable musical stylishness, as well as an intelligent choice of material, appeared to compensate for the occasional lack of focus in her performances.

Friday night’s opening set was typical of Ward’s eclecticism--a far-ranging collection of materials that included a Puccini aria, a “Phantom of the Opera” song, wordless jazz vocalizing on an Antonio Carlos Jobim bossa nova, and a sultry reading of “Come Rane or Come Shine.” Add to that an interpretation of “I Love a Piano” that allowed her to duet with accompanist Kathy Rubbicco and an impromptu reading of wacky headlines from the National Enquirer, and Ward’s performance cup was clearly running over.

Yet, although she has refreshed her program this time around with a few new songs, its heavy reliance on diversity-for-its-own-sake remained the same--a tour de force of versatility that unfortunately revealed more about the breadth of Ward’s skills than about the richness of her emotions.

If she clearly demonstrated the capacity to bring new ideas to the sometimes repetitious cabaret stage, she also revealed an apparent difficulty in reaching pasture material to touch her audience.

Watching Ward’s energetic page-turning of styles, one was reminded of the magical connections Mabel Mercer could generate by simply sitting in a large chair and singing classic standards. Perhaps it’s time for Ward to give her many voices a sprinkling of Mercer-style enchantment.

B. J. Ward continues at the Gardenia Friday and Saturday, with shows at 9.