LAUREN PRITCHARD AT ARS NOVA

Lauren Pritchard's sold-out showcase at Ars Nova on Tuesday was one of the best performances I've seen this year. Her singing was remarkably strong and virtuosically calibrated, enhanced by a strong sense of rhythm that also came through in her piano playing. And her patter was quirky like her delivery as Ilse in Spring Awakening...but funny! I'm not a fan of some of her material (I'm told one of the selections was a Kelly Clarkson cover), but she shaped everything so effectively that I enjoyed all of it.

It's just too bad that Pritchard's set was so short (maybe 40 minutes?). Her other numbers included two break-up songs that she wrote herself and at least two numbers by Spring Awakening's songwriting team of Duncan Sheik (who accompanied Pritchard on guitar and exchanged quips with her too)and Steven Sater (who was in the audience, along with many other Spring Awakening folk).

Sheik, Sater, and Pritchard just might have the right stuff to give Bacharach/David/Warwick a run for their money--and I mean that in the best possible sense! Plus Pritchard can write her own music, too...so I'm very curious to see how she builds on her potential.

Spring Awakening cellist Ben Kalb accompanied Pritchard throughout the evening--his playing was terrific, as were the arrangements.

Here's a write-up of the event by meli. (The tupperware on the walls was from the set for Dixie's Tupperware Party.)