Marin Mazzie at the JCCC in San Rafael


A tutorial on break-free singing...she makes it look effortless

I am not a fan of singers that let you know exactly how hard they're working. I hate wobbling chins that match vibrato rates. I hate distorted expressions to get out certain vowels. I hate throat veins popping or heads reaching for high notes or low notes.

And while I don't hate an obvious break in a woman's voice between her chest voice and her head voice, since I know exactly how hard it is not to have such a break, when I hear someone who can traverse that break with complete fluidity and seamlessness, I am thrilled.

I heard that kind of voice 20 years ago when I did summer stock theatre with a young New York actress named Marin Mazzie. I pretty much admired everything she did vocally, so when I moved to New York I got her recommendations for vocal teacher and vocal coach and started taking with the same teachers. Marin went on to Broadway fame, having thus far earned three Tony nominations for her work in "Passion", "Ragtime" and "Kiss Me Kate." Ragtime in particular really showcased the seamless way her voice travels from low to high.

Last night I and 8 of my friends went up to the Marin JCC in San Rafael and saw Marin's solo act, featuring the music of Jerry Herman and Kander & Ebb.

I have to say that neither Herman nor Kander & Ebb are among my favorite composers. If Marin had done a Sondheim/Cole Porter/Ahrens & Flaherty show (also composers whose work she has done on Broadway) I would have been much happier. But there were a handful of songs that were unfamiliar to me that raised my esteem for the composers she was focusing on.

In particular, I loved A Quiet Thing, from Kander & Ebb's "Flora the Red Menace."

Marin did a very careful job of constructing her show. In the first half I was wondering if she simply didn't belt anymore, given her famous mix voice, but no, she was saving the balls out belting for the latter half of the show, and in retrospect it was a very intelligent structure. I'm sure it's not only easier on her voice, but easier on an audience to build to more belting as you go. Some of the songs she did early on were famous belt numbers, so it was a little disconcerting to hear them done Mazzie-style. But it really didn't bother me. I mean how many times can you hear someone cranking out Maybe This Time as a bravura belt number?

She also built up to more emotional singing. Again, just when you were starting to wonder if she was going to let go and let some of her sense of humor, or some sense of pathos really show, she started letting it go. Again in retrospect, it's probably a wise choice.

Bottom line: Marin has one of the most skillful and pleasing voices I have ever heard. And it has only gotten more so as the years have gone by. What is a real shame is that there aren't more fabulous new Broadway musicals being written, especially with role for such a fantastic Broadway diva. Why is she ever off the Broadway stage?

I did stay and talk to Marin afterwards...it's been over 10 years since the last time we chatted. (Although we agreed neither one of us looked a bit different!)

Throughout her show I thought repeatedly of our mutual voice teacher, Gary Patterson. She and I agreed that it was his life's work to teach women to sing like Marin does. I knew he had been ill by the time I left NYC, and back then it wasn't quite so obvious when it was AIDS. I asked Marin about Gary and, sadly, my suspicions that he had long ago died were true. She said she wasn't even sure he had gotten to see her in "Passion."

But if you believe that those who are gone can still look down and see what's happening, then surely Gary was looking down on Marin's performance last night and feeling proud.

Here's a shot of me and Marin (looking exactly as we did 20 years ago at the Barn Theatre in August, MI.):


Posted: Mon - February 14, 2005 at 01:15 PM       EmailFeedback

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