Also this issue: Trading Spaces Fleisher/Ollman Gallery celebrates a milestone anniversary with a change of location. -Susan Hagen Degas Vu The Art Museum transports you back to Degas' world. -Robin Rice Ballet Lessons A dance critic's perspective on “Degas and the Dance.” -Janet Anderson 19th Annual Celebration of Black Writing -Elisa Ludwig Concerts for the Community -David Shengold Tango Buenos Aires -Deni Kasrel Jeanne Ruddy Dance -Deni Kasrel The Magic Flute -Steve Cohen

February 13-19, 2003

theater

Leap of Faith

by David Anthony Fox

Theatrically speaking, Faith Prince is everybody's favorite sidekick. By that I mean she's fashioned a major career playing the secondary female -- the gal pal, the sister, the woman the hero should want to date, if only he weren't besotted by the boring ingénue. Prince is quirky, attractive, wry and altogether lovable. She can be heart-rending or (more often) hilarious. In Guys and Dolls (her Broadway breakthrough), she was Miss Adelaide for the ages -- nobody is better at throwing away a saucy or self-deprecating lyric.

So it is in Leap of Faith. When Prince sticks to oddball comic material -- particularly the kind that is rueful or sexy or (best of all) both -- she's fabulous. "The Hard Way," a snappy Burke/Van Heusen number written for Betty Hutton, is here resurrected gloriously -- just watch Prince's face, alive to every nuance. And in the high-flying "belt" passages, the voice blares out like a trumpet.

She's also swell in a medley of songs from Bells are Ringing, as well as a clever piece called "I Do What I Can With What I Got" from Larry Grossman and Ellen Fitzhugh's Paper Moon. And even when not singing, Prince is a charmer. She knows just how much to say about each number, and treats us like intimate friends -- what fun she'd be over a dishy lunch, we think.

Ah, you can feel a "but" coming. Well, yes, there is one. A cabaret appearance is fundamentally a star turn. When Prince is featured in a musical, we wait eagerly for her every reappearance. But placed center-stage for 80 minutes, her skills and persona seem more limited. Singing "Some People" from Gypsy, she misses the underlying anger that makes the seemingly sunny lyrics cut deep. "Sweet Kentucky Ham," a Dave Frishberg gem, falls flat -- Prince hasn't the necessary jazz chops, and we also start to notice that her singing isn't always in tune. Rosemary Clooney really lived this piece -- Prince seems to be just trying it out.

Still, on balance there's more delight than disappointment, and Prince saves the best for last -- a clever spin on "Adelaide's Lament" that allows her to reprise her beloved alter ego and swing up a storm. It's a happy concluding note -- and the audience made it clear they were in the palm of her hand. Rob Berman (piano), Kevin MacConnell (bass) and Prince's husband, Larry Lunetta (trumpet), provide able support.

Through Feb. 23, Cabaret at the Prince, Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700