INTERVIEW: Andrea Marcovicci bids farewell to NYC audiences
Photo: Andrea Marcovicci will present Chasing Time Nov. 17 at Feinstein’s / 54 Below. Photo courtesy of Daniel Reichert / Provided with permission.
Saturday, Nov. 17 will be a special night at Feinstein’s / 54 Below in Midtown Manhattan. The celebrated cabaret venue will play host to two shows by the legendary Andrea Marcovicci, and they will certainly prove memorable because the singer is bidding farewell to New York City audiences.
Marcovicci will bring her acclaimed solo show, Crossing Time, to New York, but longtime fans should not expect a routine greatest-hits parade. She may have dominated the cabaret scene in the Big Apple for more than three decades, but the singer will keep things fresh on Saturday night.
“It’s a very eclectic show,” Marcovicci said in a recent phone interview. “It is not at all what they’re going to think it’s going to be. It’s not a night of greatest hits. It is a wonderful roller-coaster that goes all the way back to the ’80s at the Gardenia and the early ‘90s at the Algonquin, and it goes as far into the future as La La Land and a song written just for this evening, ‘Crossing Time,’ an original song written by my friend, Lesley Alexander, and Shelly Markham. I’m very excited about the show because it’s so far reaching, both vocally, emotionally and lyrically.”
Crossing Time previously played Chicago, where it received high marks from the Chicago Tribune (Marcovicci called it the best review of her career), in particular for the original song “Crossing Time.” To further celebrate the memories of the night, everyone who purchased a ticket to the 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. concerts will receive a CD version of the original tune. Note: This farewell celebration is sold out, as of press time, but there’s a waiting list.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE
At first, Crossing Time was not supposed to be Marcovicci’s farewell to the stage.
“I did the show, Crossing Time, for Chicago and for Los Angeles for one of my anniversary shows,” she said. “And then the show went so well that it ended up being my farewell solo show, which is why it isn’t a night that people will expect. It isn’t a night of greatest hits, or ‘Goodbye, New York.’ It isn’t what they’re going to expect at all.”
The farewell performance will have Marcovicci becoming extra reflective on her career, and, truth be told, there are some personal situations that have also caused her to look back and think about the life she has lived so far.
“I’ve been reflective for a number of other reasons — first of all turning 70, second of all I lost my mother a couple years ago, which has made me very introspective,” she said. “And my daughter graduated college two years ago as well, so these are passages in life that change you. And as an artist I found myself aching to sing certain songs that I hadn’t sung for 20-30 years, and also there are songs that were put aside years ago that I just never got to. And these have come out of the shadows, and they are now in the show.”
One of those songs is “Ribbons Down My Back,” and another one is “One Life to Live,” which Marcovicci said is appealing to her after seven decades of lessons in life. Another tune is “The Kind of Love You Never Recover From,” which the singer has not performed in a long time.
“It used to be one of my signature songs, so retrospection is a big part of the show, and emotion and a tribute to my mother,” she said. “I’m singing a couple of the songs that [my mother] sang, and quite amazingly, the notes that she hit are now in my throat. And it’s almost uncanny how much I sound like her. My musical director fell off the chair when I hit this note, and I think the audience will. I think they’re going to be really shocked when I hit this particular note that my mother used to hit at the end of this song.”
Marcovicci is perhaps best remembered for her unprecedented run of shows at the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. The engagement ran for 25 years, and she was the final performer to be on that heralded stage. Other venues around town have hosted Marcovicci’s cabaret act, including Café Carlyle and Joe’s Pub. In her career, she has also sold out Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and Lincoln Center.
She has been good to the Big Apple, and the Big Apple has returned the admiration.
“There is so much love in the New York audience,” Marcovicci said. “There is so much love and devotion and loyalty that I have experienced as an artist over the last 31 years. This is 2018. I opened in ‘87. The fact that we have sold the entire house out twice is so moving to me, so overwhelming. I know I will take that stage, and hopefully I will not cry. … The Algonquin was packed for 25 years, and, yes, I moved on to the Carlyle for a year. And then I bounced around to Joe’s Pub, and now I’m at 54 Below. But I had loyal audiences for 31 years, and they helped me through everything. They helped me through the birth of my child, my marriage. They know everything about me. It’s just incredible, but that’s what cabaret brings, you see, because there is no fourth wall in cabaret.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Andrea Marcovicci will present Chasing Time Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Feinstein’s / 54 Below in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets. Note: Tickets are currently sold out, but there’s a waiting list.
