Cabaret singer shines in show-tune production to The Strand

Tim Spradlin brought a musical energy and gusto to The Strand Theatre in a two-set cabaret-style performance Saturday night in a show filled with slick, sleek skills honed during a 25-years career.

Accompanied by two very professional musicians, David Meek on keyboards and Bill Myers on bass, Spradlin’s polished production featured a sweeping repertoire of songs culled from past musicals, both on and off Broadway, and several other legendary crooners, showmen and master performers.

“These are all songs from different places in my life,” Spradlin said as he opened the second set with a rather spiritual song and then switched gears and plunged into a mellow, introspective ballad filled with retrospection.

Musically, this song “Lost in a Masquerade”, also evolved into a kind of tone poem as Myers bass lines popped, crackled and jumped as his fingers caressed the strings and Meeks keyboards more than complemented the moody vocals.  It was rich, resonate tune of subdued emotion that recalled an old-school German cabaret and vividly displayed Spradlin’s vocal dexterity.

This dexterity was further enhanced as Spradlin introduced a series of songs from the stage productions of “Rent,’ and then characteristically stood aside to share the vocal spotlight with Meeks and Myers during an extended instrumental and vocal serenades- as- tribute to fallen singers from theatrical history.

Initially, Myers opened with “If I Ruled the World,” a crooner-like tune that recalled a bygone era of big-time  Hollywood or Broadway  musicals. Next, he then subtly and seamlessly switched his very high-tenor voice into a harmonic duet with Meeks, who simultaneously sang and played with a tingling, jangling verve. It was toe-tapping melody filled with crisp energy, tempo and a pristine professionalism in its full, fluid sound.

Musically, the show gained momentum and built to a crescendo as Spradlin next took the crowd on a journey through the musical styles of such legendary performers such as Barry Manilow and Tom Jones, especially the deep, melancholic, longing anger of lost love on “Delilah.” It was a fine upbeat rendition of Jones’ wild style of entertainment and perfectly capped this evening of show-tunes in a show filled with tunes lifted from the stages of yester-year.

From here, Spradlin continued his vocally driven concert to conclude the evening with a rousing blues number, “My Heart is Aching.”

“I usually close with one my favorite songs,” he said. “But sometimes you just have to sing the blues.”

All in all, Spradlin is a consummate professional who entertains and performs with enthusiasm and showmanship and his show Saturday night was no exception.