October 2- 8, 2003

theater

Sophisticated Lady

Karen Akers’ worldly approach and intimate delivery make her a cabaret star for a new era.

by David Anthony Fox

If some divine creator had set out to design the perfect cabaret diva, the result might well be Karen Akers.

Consider Akers’ extraordinary looks. She’s 6 feet tall, ballerina slim, with supermodel cheekbones and a chic Louise Brooks pageboy hairstyle. Her aristocratic intelligence is evident throughout our interview (the conversation takes her into four languages, all impeccably pronounced).

But of course, it's the music that really matters, and Akers' cultivated speaking voice hints at what we get full-throttle in her singing: a smoky, wide-ranging instrument with an unforgettable emotional touch.

Akers is also celebrated for her taste in songs. At the Prince, her program will be rooted in theater music. Why, I ask? "It seemed the right time. I talk about how theater songs arise out of heightened circumstances, and something heightened is very much part of our lives today. In the last two years, people are examining their priorities in a different way. This material suits a wider range of mood. It has more intensity.

"And these are also songs I've always loved. There is Maltby and Shire [from Closer Than Ever and Baby], a little bit of Sondheim, some fun things even a bona fide opener [from Applause]. I'm not sure I've ever had a bona fide opener before!" I ask for a couple more specifics, but Akers is charmingly elusive. "Most of them are relatively unfamiliar," she says. "And I think there should be a few surprises."

Still, she does volunteer that there are several songs from Maury Yeston's Nine, a show that has special meaning for Akers: She originated the role of Luisa Contini in the first Broadway production, 20-plus years ago. "I've not done most of the Nine songs out of context before, but with the revival, I thought the time was right." I ask if it was a special challenge, revisiting this material now. "I'm just so glad I've still got the chops for it!" Akers says. "For the last few years I've been working with a marvelous coach in New York, and I think I'm singing at my best now."

Beyond the core of theater material, Akers has added a few other things, including a song by Jacques Brel that she feels "needed to be heard." In fact, chansons are a staple of Akers' repertoire. What is the French connection for a girl who grew up in New York? "My mother's favorite singers were Edith Piaf and Yves Montand. Lord knows how she found them, but she did. Without knowing a word of the language, I gravitated toward the performances -- they were so committed to the stories, so direct and vital. Piaf once explained that åthe French love me because of my sincerity.' I hope audiences feel that way about me."

It was a similar sense of sincerity that led Akers to her early admiration of American folk singers: "Carolyn Hester, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, bigtime! For a while I even looked like Joni Mitchell, with the long straight hair and bangs." What ultimately led her away from this repertoire? "I was frustrated because I couldn't play the guitar well enough to do the songs I wanted to do. And I was discovering Kurt Weill, Jacques Brel "

It was a journey that led to many parts of the world (an early appearance on Hamburg television helped land a PBS gig in the U.S.). But cabaret venues are her most familiar habitat. "I think over the years I played just about every room in New York," Akers says with a smile.

So why the special affinity for cabaret? "It's a fusion of music and theater. Part of it is the intimacy with the audience. I've been in situations where if I sat down, it would be in someone's lap! That's disconcerting at first, but it becomes addictive. It's fun to be that close a little scary too, since there's nowhere to hide."

Then the supremely poised Akers confesses the unthinkable. "There was a time when I couldn't even so much as look at people while I was singing."

And how about now, I ask?

"Now I relish it."

Karen Akers in Theater Songs, through Oct. 12, Morgans Cabaret at the Prince, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700.