Here comes Tanya the Tornado, who’s torn through town, taking no prisoners. You’ve caught wind of her ka-pow and power if you’ve caught any leather-lunged Tanya Moberly performance at The Salon open mic, singing strikingly each Sunday. At Don’t Tell Mama, she takes a bunch of punch-in-the-stomach intense Theatre Songs and Salonmate Musical Director Mark Janas, along with bassist Ritt Henn, skillfully match her immensely intense sensibilities. No gentle starts, no slow ebb and flow, no extraneous repeat choruses. It’s BANG! What next? BANG! She comes on strong, comes off tough as nails, could probably nail you to the wall with one hand tied behind her back, but boy—she nails her numbers. Viscerally volcanic, not fearing searing emotion, she takes the willing for a thrilling ride at high speed. Almost everything is at full throttle, from the first line. Doing otherwise? Maybe it never entered her mind. “It Never Entered My Mind” is the only true ballad, but it’s—surprise!—touching. OK, maybe there’s a chip on her shoulder still, but it works.No perky, sweet, show tunes for naïve ingénues here. Some come from her past stage roles. She’s quite good delivering the goods with Sondheim’s eyes-open “The Miller’s Son,” Grease’s “There Are Worse Things I Could Do,” and a trenchant, ultimately resigned “West End Avenue.” Manic Moberly grabs tunes like a lioness, droolingly devouring the raw flesh of her prey and ripping off more. But her show’s no rip-off. She’s worth seeing.Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
September 30, 2010
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