CABARET REVIEW : Kay Starr in a Nostalgic Key

Look out, Vanna White. The original “Wheel of Fortune” girl--Kay Starr--is back in town this week, spinning out a good-time collection of ‘50s perennials at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill.

Starr’s opening night performance Wednesday--before an audience sparkling with such pop music veterans as Maxine Andrews (of the Sisters), Don Mills (of the Brothers) and Yma Sumac (of the Andes)--was a carefully packaged mix of instant nostalgia.

Her burry-edged voice and blues-inflected phrasing sounded as fine as ever, while her Ethel-Merman-of-the-pop-world intensity came close to rattling the walls of the lovely old landmark hotel.

Starr was surprisingly effective on several ballads--especially “I’m Through With Love”--but she was even better with the rollicking party songs that are the staple of her style. “Wheel of Fortune,” her signature piece, has always been a perfect combination of singer and material, but she was equally stirring on “Hallelujah, I Love Him So,” “You Gotta See Momma Every Night,” “Up a Lazy River,” “Bonaparte’s Retreat” and “Rock and Roll Waltz.”

More problematic was the fact that Starr sang essentially the same material (with many of the same jokes between numbers) that she has been using for several years, and that may be one of the difficulties with nostalgia shows in general.

Performers like Starr are under such pressure to give their audiences familiar songs performed in a familiar style that they rarely explore the possibilities of adding new material and expanding their interpretive base.

In Starr’s case, at least, that’s unfortunate, because her one effort at a reasonably contemporary piece, an attractive reading of Billy Vera’s “If I Could Just Hold You Again,” suggested that her strikingly timeless style has possibilities that reach beyond the recapturing of past glories.

It’s equally unfortunate that probably few young music fans will be showing up for Starr’s Cinegrill appearance.

If they did, they would surely be fascinated to hear one of the singers whose highly personal blend of country and blues had a significant influence upon the early years of rock music.

The Frankie Ortega Trio (with Jerry White on drums and Morty Corb on bass) provided solid support for Starr, who continues at the Cinegrill through Saturday, and returns Wednesday through Aug. 6.