McGovern at the Cinegrill: A Tone Worth Remembering

Maureen McGovern’s opening night at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill was a musical triumph. If there’s a singer on the planet who can perform material from the great American pop music songbook any better than she can, it’s hard to imagine whom it might be.

Working before a packed house on Tuesday that included members of the Society of Singers (the performance was a benefit for the organization), McGovern presented a set of film-oriented songs in a performance titled “My ‘Reel’ Romance With the Movies.” And it didn’t matter whether the tunes were older standards, lightweight fluff or newer ballads. Everything emerged with superb musicality, a ravishing tone and intelligent interpretation of lyrics.

She sang “The Boy Next Door” with a simple, down-to-earth winsome quality that belied the extraordinary skill involved in producing pure, pianissimo head tones; she did “Over the Rainbow” a cappella, without benefit of a microphone, and kept her listeners spellbound. In a medley of songs with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, she found the intimate centers of numbers such as “How Do You Keep the Music Playing” and the verbally intricate “Windmills of Your Mind.”

At one point, in one of the Bergman tunes, she suddenly forgot a line. Looking out, she appealed for help from Alan Bergman, who was in the audience. Bergman hesitated for a moment, then called back, with a somewhat embarrassed laugh, “I can’t remember it either.” But it was no problem for the professional McGovern, who shared the laugh with Bergman and moved on to the next tune.

McGovern clearly has the ability to do just about anything she wants. What makes her special is that she uses that skill at the service of the most essential requirement of good singing: telling a musical story that engages and captivates an audience. Since McGovern rarely works in venues as small as the Cinegrill, her appearance this week provides a rare opportunity to hear what it takes to be a world-class vocal artist.

* Maureen McGovern at the Cinegrill, tonight at 8, Friday and Saturday at 8 and 10:30 p.m., and Sunday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Cover charge, $22, tonight; $25 Friday-Sunday. 7000 Hollywood Blvd. (213) 466-7000.