CABARET REVIEW : Corey Wields a Heavy Hand at Cinegrill

Somewhere around the middle of Jill Corey’s opening set at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill on Wednesday night, it was almost impossible to avoid the temptation to shout, “Lighten up! It’s not as bad as all that!”

Corey’s first appearance in the area in 15 years showcased a performer strikingly different from the effervescent-looking teen-ager who, in the early ‘50s, signed a Columbia Records contract, was photographed for a Life magazine cover, and joined the “Garroway at Large” television show--all in one day.

She is now an attractive woman in her early 50s with a larger-than-life voice throbbing with melodrama. Obviously influenced by the Angst of Judy Garland, Corey sang a program of Harold Arlen songs that were determinedly mannered and passionately intense. With her strong-featured face and constantly moving arms in a state of almost continuous tension, she found reasons to make grand gestures in even the most lightweight material.

Two contrasting, but witty songs about love--”Let’s Fall in Love” and “Down With Love”--were handled with such overpowering readings that they almost completely lost the innate whimsicality provided by lyricists Ted Koehler and Yip Harburg.

Corey was much better with a medley of “Ill Wind” and “Straw in the Wind,” in part because the material called for the kind of dramatic gestures which are intrinsic to her style.

But she should reconsider her interpretations of several other songs. Two Arlen/Johnny Mercer collaborations, “Blues in the Night” and “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive,” were sung with an outdated accent and manner that came close to patronizing the blues and gospel sources of the lyrics.

Equally unappealing was Corey’s final medley of “One for My Baby” and “Something Cold to Drink,” in which she dramatized the songs by playing the role of a woman who’s had too much to drink. Granting the fact that she did not intend the role to be attractive, the use of a drunk characterization for any kind of entertainment purpose was--in this era of addiction and dependency--hopelessly wrong.

Corey clearly has the potential to produce an effective cabaret turn but, at the moment, she is in real need of better advice and direction for her interpretations. She was ably accompanied by pianist Dick Gallagher.

Corey continues at the Cinegrill through Saturday and returns next Wednesday through Saturday.