Christopher Caswell: Listen to My Heart

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Christopher Caswell: Listen to My Heart took the audience into his confidence as he opened up about his personal life: friends, loves, children and, of course, show business.  His show had the intimacy of being in Caswell’s living room in the guise of the Laurie Beechman Theatre, just off the theater district.

Lean, youthful and handsome, Caswell—who admits to being sixty-plus—opened with a stroll through the audience singing the title song, which, after many personal revelations, also ended the show, taking on a different meaning.

His apprehension of love and romance permeated his adult re-purposed rendition of “Waving Through a Window” from Dear Evan Hanson (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), partly softened with the very sweet “The Air That I Breathe” (Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood).

His reminiscences involved a lovely tribute to his daughter Becky who was in the audience and a homey memory of reading the World Book Encyclopedia to get to know the planet when he was a child, knowledge that would begin his journey from shy kid to sophisticated cabaret performer.

He plucked at heartstrings with “Two Chairs” (Tom Anderson) and a wistful “Broken and Beautiful” (Chris Comstock, Steve Mac, Alecia Moore and Johnny McDaid).

Remembering his trepidation before a blind date he sang “Tonight at Eight” from She Loves Me (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick) which led to “I Got Lost in His Arms” (Irving Berlin) and a jaunty “How Long Has This Been Going On?” (George and Ira Gershwin) when that rendezvous was delightfully successful, eventually leading to a long-lasting marriage, confirmed movingly with his dramatic interpretation of “The Music that Makes Me Dance” from Funny Girl (Jule Styne and Bob Merrill).

The overall impression Caswell gave was of a guy delighted to let us in on his good fortune.  Luckily he is a talented enough singer with a pleasing voice and an amiable, but sophisticated persona.

His music director/arranger was James Followell who led the band from the piano.  The band was made up of Sean Conly on bass and Dan Gross on percussion.

Cabaret royalty, Jeff Harnar, was Caswell’s creative consultant and able director.

Christopher Caswell: Listen to My Heart (May 5 &11, 2024)

Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café, 407 West 42^nd Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.westbankcafe.com/laurie-beechman-theatre

Running time: one hour and 15 minutes without an intermission