© New York Post
April 24, 1995


Little by Little is a lot of Fun
By Chip Deffaa

Little by Little, conceived and directed by Annette Jolles, is currently booked for today and next Monday at Eighty-Eights in the West Village.

It deserves a longer run.

This refreshing, intimate show, quite unlike anything else on the cabaret scene, tells via spoken song – no spoken dialogue – of the development (and eventual romantic entanglements) of two girls and a boy, It’s crafted with care.

With one appropriate exception (“Starlight, Star Bright”, a traditional children’s rhyme to which Victor Herbert added a melody in 1895) all of the songs are original.

The show is lyric-driven. The pleasant, often gentle music by Brad Ross tends to be functional rather than memorable. The real vitality is in the lyrics. Most are by Ellen Greenfield, others are by Hal Hackaday.

While I appreciated the contributions of both, I wished more use had been made of savvy Broadway veteran Hackaday, who supplied some of the wittiest and most inventive moments.

Songs such as “Tag” (lyrics by Greenfield) and “Popcorn” (Hackaday) nail – quite brilliantly – the first stirrings of sexual feelings. Hackaday’s “The Schmooze”, with its succession of increasingly obvious attempts at flattery (I’ll have what you’re having/Scotch and Sprite?/I could drink it all night…….) earned considerable laughter.

While Michael Gruber, Tia Speros and Sarah Uriarte all sing well, Uriarte ( who’s been starring as Belle in Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast) was a particular delight; her eyes – whether she’s being seductive or outraged – are wondrously expressive.

The show’s second half sags a bit. The plot’s final outcome was predictable well before the end. But those are realatively minor complaints about a cabaret show that, overall, is considerably more poised, professional and insightful than most around town.


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