by Jan Wallman

The best antidote to the End-of-the-Winter-Blahs that I can think of is April in Paris. If you can’t hop on Air France for an extended trip, try a simpler fix and go to the Reprise Room to see RENDEZVOUS. I promise you, this light-hearted revue of the songs of Piaf, Brel Aznavour & Friends will transport you. The singers (two men, two women) a pianist and a bass player and the nostalgic songs are all you need to take you away for an hour of restorative pleasure.

The attractive cast, Philip Anderson, Greg Purnhagen, Katie Geissinger and Carmen Lamar-Daehler, open with the peppy “Brussels,” the well-remembered Jacques Brel rouser, This sets the tone for the show and it continues with group numbers, duets and solos of the very familiar Piaf, Brel and Aznavour songs you would expect, plus a lot of Cole Porter and several other composers who wrote songs about Paris. Most impressive was Philip Anderson, whose version of the Aznavour story song “What Make a Man a Man,” was truly, as the French say, formidable.

Produced by Terry Moyer of Creative Minds Productions, with Musical Director Tedd Firth and bassist Sean Conly, RENDEZVOUS is a Gallic potpourri of diverting nostalgia. If you love Paris and this mixed bag is your bag, you’ll be loving it.