Stage Show Gets a Push Into the Present

A stage dominated by large video monitors? This is cabaret? Not in the traditional sense, that’s for sure. But there they were, cluttering the small performing platform at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday night for the opening of singer Susan Egan’s “Wild and Reckless” cabaret performance.

Obviously, Egan’s presentation was intended to reach beyond the familiar small-stage arena of cabaret. And, given her background, why not? Best known as the original Belle in the Broadway and Los Angeles stage versions of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” Egan also supplied the voice for the character of Meg in the Disney animated film “Hercules.”

So it’s not surprising that she chose to underscore those associations by including film clips of her stage performances, as well as a synchronized, live rendering (accompanied by a prerecorded music track) of “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” from “Hercules.”

Aside from their momentary novelty value, however, the video references really weren’t necessary. Yes, it was intriguing to see Egan reclining across one side of the piano, singing live while the image of the Meg character was visually voicing the words on the video monitors. But the few brief pluses provided by the monitors hardly justified their intrusive presence on stage. Egan is a far too talented singer and actress to have to make her points via such a major emphasis upon her Disney connections.

Her concept of cabaret, one that turned away from familiar and often overdone standards in favor of relatively new works, was intelligent and creative. Unfortunately, it also was erratic, in part because Egan’s understandable desire to find attractive new material was not always successful.

Most of the set’s opening segment, for example, was dominated by material--some of it from shows in which Egan performed--that was, at best, insubstantial. And there were times, in those early moments, when her coy presentation and her emphasis upon holding notes at the expense of the lyrics combined with the presence of the video monitors to suggest the dumbing down of cabaret.

But matters improved as the program continued, and Egan moved beyond her coltish ingenue-style mannerisms to reveal a rich, multilayered interpretation of the music. And she was aided by the inclusion of several fine new songs, among them her own “Sonnet” (with music by Michael Weiner) and the dramatic “First Love,” by Eric Vetro (who also accompanied Egan) and Stephen Shore.

The video monitors glowed once again for a climactic number in which she sang several songs, including the familiar title number from “Beauty and the Beast” to the accompaniment of a loosely strung together video of performance and backstage clips from the show. And it was, once again, an unnecessary distraction from Egan’s dynamic, live presence.

Give her credit, however, for imagining a novel approach to cabaret, even if it progressed only in fits and starts. With her musical intelligence and first-rate performing skills, Egan clearly has the capacity--if she takes a bit more time to find a consistent program of high-level material--to bring new life to the cabaret stage.

Susan Egan, Cinegrill, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd. Tuesday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $20 admission, plus $10 minimum beverage or dessert purchase. (213) 466-7000.