Keep Living, Keep Loving
Featuring Patrice Bloomfield
Musical Direction by Chris Leavy
Winter Park Playhouse
Winter Park, FL
8-22-2019
You know this young woman is serious about her jazz. She appears in an elaborate black and gold skin tight dress that screams: “This is jazz. Stand back!” Ms. Bloomfield’s recent addition to the WPPH all-star roster takes us down the road of midcentury smoky hits. True, she opens with the chestnut “My Favorite Things” but soon we are down her real path. She showcases her biggest strengths with these classic thrillers: “Summertime,” “Mr. Man,” and “Loving That Man of Mine.” Her pace leans toward the slow and smoky, and Mr. Chris Leavy backs her up and tones down his own piano theatrics. This gives Ms. Bloomfield a chance to strut her stuff with no unintended musical overkill.
Once we are all jazzed up, Ms. Bloomfield pops up with the required Disney medley, then brings us some solid Rat Pack era material to close out the back end of the show. Here we hear “This Could Be Love,” “Ain’t Nobodies Business but My Own” and “God Bless the Child.” Anecdotes and a real sense of joy fill in between the songs and soon “When You Wish Upon a Star” points up that it’s time to finish our drinks and step out into the soggy Florida twilight. Plenty of great material and a solid jazz and Disney base make this an outstanding cabaret with a sold-out house. Watch for her to return in the near future, and book your seats early.
