With voice robust and energy percolating, Leslie Orofino infects the Metropolitan Room with Manhattan Madness, and she does it with her usual panache, optimism, and personality. Orofino works that stage, clicking on to her audience with natural ease. She is having fun and it shows.
Orofino swings into action with Irving Berlin's Manhattan Madness followed by Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls. It is the third song, however, Sunday in New York (by Peter Nero and Carroll Coates), that defines the show. Orofino settles down with the tempo, and sets us up for upcoming amusing patter about her experiences living in New York back in the day. She even stretches the boundaries of Manhattan eastward to Long Island, her hometown turf with The Hamptons Blues by Ronny Whyte and Jack Byrnes.
Orofino chooses her songs with care, and while she includes some familiar renditions from former shows, like Soon It's Gonna Rain (Schmidt and Jones) and Irving Berlin's Let Yourself Go, they all fit the groove of her theme. Orofino is notable for bringing her infective playfulness and polish to songs like Bobby Troup’s Daddy and Alberta Hunter's Handy Man, and she delves astutely into the heart of a soulful John Wallowitch tune, I See The World Through Your Eyes. Isn't This a Lovely Day (Berlin) and Tony DeSare's Let's Just Stay In is a particularly smooth pairing.
Vocally, her sultry and warm low-pitch mezzo serves her well. So much care goes into her shows, like her top-notch accompanists Keith Ingham on piano, Boots Maleson on bass, and Rex Benincasa on drums -- and her own stage presence is so palpable -- that Leslie Orofino never fails to delight her audiences on Sunday, or any day in New York.
Leslie Orofino returns to the Metropolitan Room with Manhattan Madness on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 4 pm.
Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
September 23, 2007
SPRING FEVER
Leslie Orofino's new show at The Hideaway Room is great fun. Her theme is clear: it's Spring Fever, and Orofino is restless. Enough of these winter doldrums, she espouses. Spring marks the resurgence of plants, flowers and - for Orofino - desires. Following her opening with Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart and It Might as Well Be Spring, Orofino lets out the stops with a spirited Spring Cleaning, complete with feather duster and accompanying wiggles as she dusts off everything and everyone on stage.
She's congenial and attractive, with a low-pitched voice that can be compelling with Soon It's Gonna Rain, seductive with Tony De Sare's Let's Just Stay In, or just plain amusing. What's amusing about a low-pitched voice? Her rendition of the appetite for a Two Fisted Double-Jointed Rough and Ready Man, presented in a manner to make any Mae West or Sophie Tucker nod in agreement. And Orofino's own composition, Cover Me in Chocolate, isn't far behind.
Louis Pietig directed the show, and the excellent arrangements were the work of Musical Director Keith Ingram, aided by Boots Maleson on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums.
Spring Fever is an enjoyable way to spend an evening or a Sunday brunch, and it's on again at Helen's Hideaway Room on April 21st, 22nd, and 25th.
Peter Leavy,
Cabaret Scenes
April 14, 2007
LET'S MISBEHAVE
Let's Do It, by Gershwin and DeSylva, was one of the songs Leslie Orofino offered in her recent show, titled Let's Misbehave, at Helen's Hideaway Room. The number, delivered with her rich vibrato and playfully sultry style, echoed the sentiments of her packed-housed audience, which didn't want the performance to end. With her warm voice, clarity and intelligence in interpreting and communicating a lyric, and sense of fun, Leslie filled the room with refreshing professionalism and style. Among highlights: her lush treatment of My Foolish Heart, a wise-cracking Daddy, her Banderas-style version of Let Yourself Go, and musical homages to two great ladies of song, Julie Wilson and Alberta Hunter. With Keith Ingham on piano, Boots Malleson on bass, and Steve Little (subbing one evening for Rex Benincasa) on drums, the evening is classic, classy cabaret. You, too, should "let yourself go" to wherever Leslie is performing next.
Leslie Orofino returns with Let's Misbehave at Helen's Hideaway Room, on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7 pm & Sept 10 at 2 pm.
Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
May 21, 2006
WANDERLUST - A JOURNEY OF THE HEART
Thinking of taking a world tour? Forget a trip on a ship: Let Leslie Orofino guide you on A Journey of the Heart. Setting sail from Opia, she circles the globe in song, blending her rich vibrato and sense of romance with touches of wistfulness and good fun. It is also model cabaret as she seques effortlessly from number to number, singing as if to each individual in the house. Starting with such advice as Let's Get Away From It All and Let Yourself Go, Leslie escorts us onto A Slow Boat to China; shares mischief When In Rome; raises steam on the sand with The Boy from Ipanema; and makes a stopover at Summertime in Venice -- eventually escorting us home to a New York State Of Mind. Applause, too , to her shipmates; Keith Ingham on piano, Rex Benincasa on drums, Boots Malleson on bass, and director Louis D. Pietig.
Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
Wanderlust, A Journey Of The Heart had to be one of the most fun filled shows I have seen in a long time. Ms. Orofino delivered more then a dozen songs, putting her clever comic spin on nearly every one! Each song was preceded with a delightful story and each song took the audience to another country or travel experience. I was reminded of the comic talent of another singer, Nanette Fabrey, with Ms. Orofino mining every song for every bit of fun possible. Wanderlust left me breathless from laughing! All this and great vocals too. Brava!
Stu Hamstra
Cabaret Hotline
RED HOT AND BLUES
Red Hot and Blues - The songs of Peggy Lee, Alberta Hunter, Mae West and Other Ladies of Attitude ... Quite a mouthful. And looking like quite a handful of attitude herself, Leslie Orofino strutted on the Iridium stage in a sequined gown with a lot of flapper flair to belt out tunes like You Gotta See Mama Every Night (Conrad/Rose), He's a Tramp, (Peggy Lee/Bill Shluger) and Bobby Troup's Baby, Baby, All the Time.
Orofino swung into the spirited backup of her accompanists, Brian Torff on bass, drummer Rex Benincasa and the standout Keith Ingham on piano, bringing in all the devilish energy necessary to emphasize the pizzazz in these tunes. She has a warm alto vocal voice with a fast vibrato; she can growl into a belt or bring a soulful tone to torch songs like Heyman and Green's Body and Soul, sounding somewhat reminiscent of Gogi Grant dubbing for Ann Blythe dubbing for Helen Morgan in The Helen Morgan Story. With a nod to Julie Wilson, she donned a red boa for what is now a Wilson standard, Cy Coleman's Don't Ask a Lady and , saluting Alberta Hunter, Orofino recounted the hysterical double entrendres in Handy Man (Razaf and Blake). Leslie Orofino's connection to the audience is always tops... she tosses her boa to a ringside gent, she points to a few audience members, and smiles at others. Ms. Orofino can be counted on to deliver a polished, well-paced show, and Red Hot and Blues is no exception.
Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
Last Thursday night, was my first visit to Opia, but I have been a consistent fan of Ms. Orofino. The new show was a perfect showcase of Ms. Orofino's personal wit and charm and delightful vocals. Backed by a terrific band featuring Keith Ingham on piano, Brian Torff on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums, Ms. Orofino never wavered from her goal of giving all an enjoyable, fun-filled evening of song. Her director is Louis D. Pietig.
Ms. Orofino brings so much fun and joy to her shows, she actually reminded me of shows I saw years ago by one of the "Ladies of Attitude" she saluted, Alberta Hunter, who I saw at the old Cookery in the Village about 6 times, many years ago. Julie Wilson, Dorothy Fields, Peggy Lee and Mae West were also represented on this list of personalities.
Stu Hamstra
Cabaret Hotline
HOORAY FOR LOVE
The life and lyrics of Academy award winner,
Dorothy Fields
Fields of Glory
Speaking of strong women, Leslie Orofino recently concluded a cabaret act at Danny's Skylight Room devoted to the work of lyricist Dorothy Fields. Orofino's patter was peppered with interesting facts and anecdotes, and she did a particularly good job of setting up her songs. Her carefully crafted script went a long way toward pulling the audience into her warm, engaging show. Give her something big and broad to play and she's dynamite, lit and ready to explode. She sold songs that were purchased at retail by an audience fully won over by her personality.
Barbara & Scott Siegel
Theatremania.com
Leslie Orofino's "Hurray For Love" is a knockout show... go see it!
Julie Wilson
International Cabaret Star
Leslie Orofino's full program of Dorothy Fields' lyrics did justice to the genius that was Dorothy. My friend, Edward Longo, a hypnotherapist, said he felt the presence of Ms. Fields in the Oak room. That's REAL COMMUNICATION, wouldn't you say? Ms. Orofino is faultless doing "Don't Blame Me" and impeccable selling "Pick Yourself Up." In look and attitude, Leslie has luster.
Gary Stevens,
Cabaret Scenes
"Lady with a Song...While the uproarious Jamie Cullum continues to entertain in the evenings at the Algonquin, the more traditional cabaret singer Leslie Orofino takes over on Sunday Brunches in a salute to Dorothy Fields, the first lady of Tin Pan Alley. Ms. Orofino covers Fields' whole career, from the days when her father tried to block producers from hiring her ("the theatre is no place for a lady") to later triumphs like "Sweet Charity." Ms. Orofino, who has a gift for uncovering rare verses, is most appealing when singing Field's mature, Broadway works like the previously unheard "Pink Taffeta Sample Size 10."
New York Sun
MOONLIGHT COCKTAILS
Leslie Orofino: Moonlight Cocktails
At: The Oak Room
The moon and the light it reflects found its way into each of the songs in Leslie Orofino's latest performance ("Moonlight Cocktails") at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room. Ms. Orofino has a fine mezzo voice with some stunning alto hues which match perfectly the lyrics of the songs she has chosen for this particular program.
Moonlight is capable of producing wonder. Unlike its "daytime" counterpart the sun, the moon (favorite light source of the East and the mythic goddess) leaves its subjects less delineated than "old sol," their edges less defined, their exact color less important, their content more fluid. In this shadowy state, love often blossoms where it might not otherwise take root.
This same lack of differentiation also has a less than helpful side since what is less clear can sometimes cause (if not outright harm) some serious interpersonal missteps. Indifference can be mistaken for love and what appears to be lack of interest can be the mere nervousness of untried passion.
So any show with moonlight as its thematic center needs to include both possibilities; namely the successes humans find in loving and the emptiness that same passion can create. And Ms. Orofino's solid show does just that.
With the skills of a seasoned actor and the more than pleasant voice to match, Leslie Orofino breezes through more than twenty songs whose subject is our heroic attempt to finding meaning in relationship and integrity in loneliness.
Whether it is celebrating the success of love ("I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Let's Face the Music and Dance," "My Romance") the craziness and abandon of loving ("Is It Hot in Here," "My Foolish Heart," "Chase Me Charlie") or the pain of unrequited love (Arlen and Harburg's "Down with Love") Ms. Orofino's presence on the cabaret stage is secure and matchless. She knows how to dance with a lyric and respectfully challenge the value of a note.
Leslie Orofino's eyes belie a sprit that understands the joys and risks of falling in love and her voice translates those risks and joys to her audience with honesty and a sometimes uncanny authenticity, as it does in the juxtaposed "Blue Fool" by Bernie Hanighen and Alec Wilder and "Blue Moon" by Rodgers and Hart and in Ned Washington and Victor Young's "My Foolish Heart."
Veteran Orofino devotees seemed to wait for the appearance of a boa and the touching duet with Leslie's dad Bob McGuire. Although this reviewer enjoyed these personal touches, what is most impressive about Leslie Orofino is not just what has come before but her ability to be in the present where her audience is touched again and again by a soulful voice which carries on its breath the vicissitudes of love.
David Roberts
Theatre Reviews Limited
Reviewed on Sunday, October 15th at 2:00 p.m.
You're gonna like like like Leslie Orofino's Moonlight Cocktails. The gal is in love with `Yip' Harburg lyrics and she proves her undying affection the way she sings Down With Love and Old Devil Moon. It's lunar therapy!
Gary Stevens
Cabaret Scenes
December 2001
