‘Judy Barbra Liza’: Hot vocals and blue smoke at Quality Hill

J. Kent Barnhart knows how to turn up the heat.

For his current Quality Hill Playhouse revue, the pianist/raconteur whose artistic vision determines what we see at the intimate downtown theater assembled three remarkable singers to celebrate songs made popular by Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli.

(Personal prejudice disclosure: For music associated with Garland and Minnelli, I’m there; Streisand, not so much.)

As Barnhart explained in the early going of “Judy Barbra Liza” Monday night, Lauren Braton, Christina Burton and Ashley Pankow would not be impersonating the famous singers or channeling their personae. Instead, Barnhart mixes it up, assigning songs to performers based on their vocal strengths.

So, about midway through the opening section (titled “Judy”) three successive numbers guaranteed that anyone not fully engaged at that point would be jolted into a hyper-alert stage.

Pankow, a delicate blonde with a powerful voice, offered a slow-burn version of Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s “That Old Black Magic.” Next up was Braton, one of Quality Hill’s established divas, who delivered a soulful take on Arlen and Mercer’s “Come Rain or Come Shine.” And then we got Burton, an earthy singer with a commanding stage presence, handling “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody,” which threatened to blow the roof off.

Each number triggered an increasingly enthusiastic response from the near-capacity audience. Barnhart quipped that the theatergoers had at that point already gotten their money’s worth. I can’t disagree.

Musical revues are often a mixed bag — I’m riveted during the stuff I like and my mind wanders when a tune bores me to tears — but this show will reside in my memory bank for some time.

My mind did drift a bit in the second section (“Barbra”), although Braton’s rendition of “On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)” was memorable. Burton also gave us a sensitive reading of “My Coloring Book,” an early song by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

And Pankow made “Evergreen,” which Streisand wrote with Paul Williams for the remake of “A Star Is Born,” a worthwhile few minutes.

Things heated up again after intermission. The third section (“Liza”) featured nothing but Kander and Ebb material, including Burton’s sexy take on “Don’t Tell Mama” from “Cabaret.” Pankow’s sensitive performances of “Maybe This Time,” also from “Cabaret,” was a highlight of the set.

And Braton scored with a big-hearted rendition of “But the World Goes Round,” written for the movie “New York, New York.”

The set also featured Burton’s memorable version of “City Lights” as well as an amusing staging of “Ring Them Bells,” with Pankow handling the lead vocals and Burton and Braton providing backup vocals and hand-held percussion.

The final section (“Judy Barbra Liza”) finished off the evening with six more numbers, culminating with the entire ensemble performing first “Happy Days Are Here Again,” followed by “Get Happy.”

Barnhart’s expert rhythm section, drummer Ken Remmert and bassist Brian Wilson, provided subtle and classy accompaniment.

In an unscripted moment Monday the audience got to watch Barnhart crawl on his hands and knees underneath the piano in a futile effort to repair a pedal that broke during the preceding number. I’d never seen anything like that at Quality Hill. The quip-ready Barnhart attributed the mishap to his “powerful” piano playing.

The show, by the way, is a hit. The run has been extended an additional two weeks through July 12.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 11:40 AM with the headline "‘Judy Barbra Liza’: Hot vocals and blue smoke at Quality Hill."