On his live album, If I Can Dream, recorded at The Green Room 42 in May of this year, Mark William is heard doing journeyman work on the first several numbers. His opening mash-up of “It’s You Again” (Walter Marks) and “Love Is in the Air” (Harry Vanda, George Young) is spirited, but he seems somewhat disconnected from the material. His take on Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray’s “You’d Better Love Me,” from the musical High Spirits, is, on the other hand, very enjoyable, in part because the song itself is such a pip. Following it is an original composition of William’s “Wherever We Land,” a respectable pop tune, if not an especially memorable one. There may have been moments of patter removed from the recording of the show’s opening sequence, in order to streamline the album—thereby erasing context that was present when he sang back in May. Or maybe not.
To his credit, he next performs a grouping of three songs paying homage to the career of Peter Allen, and things move up by several notches. William seems, rather suddenly, to become more deeply involved with the songs, more focused on communicating with his listeners. He apparently identifies closely with Allen, whose dreams and trepidations he seems to conflate with his own. He starts with a lively “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” (Allen, with Bacharach, Bayer Sager, and Cross) and ends with a raucous “Not the Boy Next Door” (Allen, Dean Pitchford). But it’s the thoughtful Allen ballad sandwiched between those songs, “If You Were Wondering,” on which William truly shines. He’s in control and he’s spot on.
The rest of the show/recording continues to be a mix. He does a fine job with “Feeling Good” (Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse), a song that has, sadly, worn out its welcome in recent years, having been licensed for television commercials a bit too frequently. William shows off his marvelous lower register to great effect on this one.
You can’t blame him for giving his listeners a sample of the new Dorian Gray musical, Dorian’s Wild(e) Affair, for which he wrote lyrics to Andrew Morrissey’s music. He appears to have a nascent talent for stage-song crafting. But it might have been wiser to have settled on one number from this musical-in-development, not two.
I wish the arrangement for his “The Music That Makes Me Dance” wasn’t quite so close to the one from the original Funny Girl cast album, but he sings the throbbing Merrill/Styne number deftly and with great sincerity. (If a Funny Girl song was a must for him, it was smart, I think, not to have gone with the over-worn “People” or “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”)
His big pre-encore finish is, unfortunately, the super ballad “Let Me Be Your Star” (Scott Wittman, Marc Shaiman) from the TV series and subsequent Broadway musical Smash. Blessedly, William notes that he’s singing it in honor of his friend Robyn Hurder, who was performing it on Broadway at the time the recording was made—though he also sort of makes it about himself (“Little Mark’s gone…,” he sings at one point). I’d be careful with this song. It boasts a beyond-compelling melody line, and William sings it with gusto, but it’s an anthem of such unrestrained neediness and egotism that it can be a bit cringey outside its theatrical context (and its association with Marilyn Monroe, the protagonist of Smash‘s show-within-a-show).
All things considered, this album convinces me that Mark William is well worth keeping tabs on. He’s finding his niche. I look forward to hearing and seeing him further hone his cabaret skills in the months and years ahead.
William was supported at The Green Room 42 by a combo of six musicians, led by music director and pianist Matthew Lowy.
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Produced by Michael Croiter and Preston and Richard Ridge on the Yellowsound label.
Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing reviews for BistroAwards.com in 2011. More recently he has contributed "Cabaret Setlist" articles about cabaret repertoire. Other reviews and articles have appeared in theaterscene.net and clydefitchreport.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.
