Mason Deftly, Intimately Lets Songs Tell the Story

The transition from the musical theater to cabaret can be a perilous one for singers. The larger-than-life demands of the large stage are far different from the intimate interactions of the small nightclub venue.

But Karen Mason, who opened a 10-performance run at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill on New Year’s Eve, understands the distinctions. Although she may be best known for the many times she has had to play--often on short notice, as a standby--the role of Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard,” the Midwest native also has spent years performing in venues such as the Cinegrill and New York’s Rainbow & Stars, the Algonquin and the Russian Tea Room.

Blessed with a dark, expressive voice and a full-bodied timbral range, she sang her intriguing program of songs with a fluid musicality. Her greatest skill, however, was her knack for telling a story. It is a talent that makes her an especially effective cabaret artist. Even an overly familiar standard such as “I Want to Be Around,’ for example, emerged with a more insightful slant, a thoughtful view not always apparent in its more commercial manifestations.

And when Mason chose songs with intrinsic story content, as she did for much of her set, she was sometimes brilliantly illuminating. Her rendering of “I Wish,” Babbie Green’s rapid-fire study of emotional insecurity, was definitive, a compelling blend of words, music and feeling.

Mason’s approach to the idealized romantic fantasies of “When I Marry Mr. Snow” from “Carousel” balanced its appropriate ingenuousness with a slight, knowing edge, and she invested three intriguing numbers by former partner Brian Lasser with persuasive understanding of their cameo qualities.

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Mason also revealed an adroit touch with that other cabaret necessity, the ability to interact in a close manner with her listeners. And, to her credit, she did not overdo the intimacy, telling personal stories only as specific lead-ins to songs, bantering with the audience without indulging in long, distracting exchanges.

When she sang “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from “Sunset Boulevard,” she spoke only briefly of the more than 150 times she has played the Desmond role, preferring to let her reading of the song speak for itself.

The only flaw in Mason’s otherwise beguiling evening was an occasional tendency to overreach a song, sacrificing some of the perceptive, multilayered qualities of her interpretations to big stage belting. At her best, however, she was a model cabaret artist, serving up an engaging menu of compelling, contemporary song.

* Karen Mason at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill, tonight through Sunday, and Tuesday through Jan. 11. Cover is $15, with a two-drink minimum. 7000 Hollywood Blvd. (213) 466-7000.