Lessons in Life, Love and Melody From Lisa Richards

Laguna Beach resident Lisa Richards may be familiar to attendees of the Laguna Playhouse who have seen her performing in “Inside Out” and other productions. On Friday, when she opened a two-night cabaret run at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, however, Richards appeared as a character Orange County theatergoers may not be familiar with: herself.

Skillfully using songs from musical theater and weaving in personal anecdotes and visual aids ranging from high school prom pictures to a feather boa, Richards painted a detailed portrait of a woman who fondly recalls the hopes of her childhood while casting a somewhat cynical eye on the adult world of love and relationships.

Does she like to have a good time with men? Sure. Does she think it will result in anything lasting, like a relationship, or even marriage? Not any time soon.

That she painted this portrait with plenty of self-deprecating humor worked largely in her favor. That she sang her songs in honest, wholesome tones that seemed to speak directly to each individual in the swank Cinegrill made her story completely involving.

Working with a trio led by pianist Adam Hemming, Richards established a note of sensitivity with a medley of “Skylark” and “Meadowlark,” two songs that allowed her to fly if not soar.

Glimpses of her youth came via Craig Carnelia’s “The Kid Inside” and “Nothing Really Happened,” a song about a girl’s first experience with physical attraction. Enlarged photos of her as a bespectacled high school student helped complete the picture painted by the music. She confessed to problems in her relationship with her brother, to whom she has not spoken in years, in the song “Sister.”

From there she proceeded to explain her desires regarding love and her insecurities in pursuing them. Her appetites were expressed in “Love Me With a Feeling” and “Never Enough.” Her reservations about relationships came in “Who Will Love Me as I Am?” from “Side Show.” That she isn’t optimistic about the men she chooses surfaced in “You Can Always Count on Me” from “City of Angels,” with the line “. . . a face men can wipe their feet on . . .”

That she’s jaded about the mating game came through in the song “No More” from “The Goodbye Girl,” and the classic lament “Blues in the Night.”

Richards is more than a theatrical singer. Working with a fine sense of pitch and tones that ranged from the shy, girl-next-door to lusty, hardhearted mama, she emphasized the lyrics with clear enunciation and pacing that accented every word. Her conservative stage presence seldom let acting overshadow singing, and though she sometimes overplayed dramatic moments, her approach to each number, whether melancholy or assertive, was always appropriate.

While the tone of her performance was autobiographical, Richards shared the spotlight with Hemming and actress Tracy Lore, who joined her for “Who Will Love Me as I Am?” Lore came back to the stage to accompany her on “Downtown,” the Petula Clark hit that Richards claimed was the first song she ever sang.

Ending the show with this favorite from her childhood gave the performance a suitably circular closure as she recalled singing before a mirror as a girl, dreaming of the women she would become.