Cabaret Scenes
January/February 2005
by Jeff Rossen

Ah, a Johnny Mercer lyric. On the list of America's finest wordsmiths whose contributions to the great canon of the American popular songbook helped make it what it is, Johnny Mercer and Ira Gershwin were the tops when it came to expressing the most in the fewest words. And for a singer, Mercer's lyrics allow a range of interpretations, something Peggy Herman demonstrates wonderfully on Mercer and more... Listen to the outright joy she brings to Come Rain or Come Shine, softening the usually heard belt and replacing it with almost a giddy glee. Then there's the wistful reverie found in Moon River and acidic vengeance in the pairing of I Wanma Be Around/Goody Goody (which made me laugh out loud, thanks to her band's unexpected contribution). What an inspired journey she takes us on in On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe/I Thought About You, and the Blues in the Night ring out when Herman sets her chops into them. As for the "and more" of the album's title, Herman adds strong renditions of a pair of Alan and Marilyn Bergman lyrics with her disarmingly frank performances of Fifty Percent and How Do You Keep the Music Playing?, and her I'm a Brass Band is a delightful change of pace that helps make Mercer and more... an even more entertaining winner.

How can one keep from falling in love with a woman who possesses the richest voice in cabaret.... marvelous songs, old and familiar songs, sung the way they were meant to be sung... 

BACKSTAGE:
January 2, 2004
Bistro Bits
by John Hoglund

Peggy Herman-"Mercer and more..." (Original Cast Records): On an album arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck, big-band crooner Peggy Herman belts out some of the best standards ever written. In a brassy, almost Mermanesque delivery, Herman pours her heart and decibels into every cut on this lush album. Johnny Mercer mainstays like "Fools Rush In" (Mercer-Bloom), "That Old Black Magic" (Mercer-Arlen), and "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Mercer-Arlen) are given the full- tilt treatment. The Dorothy Fields-Cy Coleman tune "I'm a Brass Band" might be the title of her memoir should she write one. She's got a big voice that serves a big talent.

NY POST:
The Mount St. Helens of cabaret... her explosive and powerful voice renders any comparisons moot...

THEATRE WEEK:
Herman really knows how to handle her voice, the songs and the mike. In short, she isn't afraid to be original and herself...

JOHN HOGLUND:
Vocally impressive with a big brassy mezzo belt... bubbly, confident and full of sass

PHYLLIS DILLER:
A dynamic young artist whose singing and presentation absolutely galvanizes an audience.... 

TOMMY TUNE
"What a voice..."