Frank Torren is one of those rare classy cabaret performers who takes you back to the days when cruise ships were a luxury and piano bars were De Rigeur. A native of Tampa, Fla, he fuses his Italian heritage with a Latin influence. Not only charming and sexy, but he’s a delightful raconteur. His voice is smooth, and he makes the stage his home.
His well-paced autobiographical show reveals the versatility of this actor/vocalist backed on piano by musical director, Rick Unterberg, who revealed his presence as a Latin-American fireball. Torren exudes warmth as he connects with an audience of a certain age, and reinforces George Carlin’s philosophy, “Life is measured not by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
After opening with “Mine For The Moment,” his song list included familiar numbers by Cole Porter, Charles Aznavour, Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini and Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Torren was at his best performing Richard E. Levinson’s “Let’s Do Something Superficial,” and Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman’s “It Amazes Me.” He introduced composer Robert Levy from the audience when he sang “Me and My Best Friend.”
Torren’s act epitomizes high seas romance. Additional performances Nov 18 and 20 at Don’t Tell Mama in NYC.
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