Leap of Faith
Declaring herself "a cabaret virgin,"Faith Princepresents her first solo show, recorded live at Joe's Pub in New York in January 2000. You'd never know it from this vastly entertaining recording that combines terrific song selection with a lot of fun patter. Best known for her Tony-winning portrayal of the ditzy Miss Adelaide inGuys and Dolls, Prince covers that sort of comedy and more in this career retrospective: "On the Other Side of the Tracks" fromLittle Me, Mary Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim'sbossa novaspoof "The Boy From..." fromHey, Love, andOn a Clear Day's "What Did I Have That I Don't Have," a less charged but no less effective rendition thanLiza Minnelli'srecorded a week earlier at the Palace. Other highlights include "The Man with a Horn," which incorporates an anecdote of how Prince met her trumpet-playing husband (who provides a solo here), and a rendition of "Something Wonderful" as Miss Adelaide herself would sing it. When the familiar screwball voice starts to intone the Rodgers and Hammerstein standard, the audience can't help laughing, but the combination of lyric and character soon becomes surprisingly poignant.A Leap of Faithis recommended for Faith Prince fans as well as anyone who wants to become one.--David Horiuchi