Brett Somers, whose sassy wit and charisma have made her a star on Broadway and in television's "The Odd Couple" and "Match Game," offers her cabaret-style memoir in "An Evening with Brett Somers" at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Performances will take place over three evenings from Thursday, May 5, through Saturday, May 7, at 8 p.m.

The sometimes poignant, often hilarious evening of stories and song was the 2004 winner of the Back Stage Bistro Award for Outstanding Musical Comedy and a nominee for the 2004 Nightlife Award for Outstanding Musical Comedy.

Somers "proves to be a wonderful raconteur who has lost none of the wit and timing that made her a fan favorite. And she has a surprisingly good voice," wrote Brian Scott Lipton of The New York Post, who compared Somers to established cabaret stars Bea Arthur and Elaine Stritch.

Somers debuted her show - her first ever cabaret outing - in July 2003 at Danny's Skylight Room in New York City. Since then, she and Musical Director Mark Cherry, who co-wrote the show, have performed in several intimate city venues and elsewhere.

The show provides an intriguing look at Somers, who left her Portland, Maine home to make a mark on Broadway, winning roles in "Maybe Tuesday, Happy Ending," "Mine Prince Mine King," "Night Fishing in Beverly Hills" and "The Country Girl."

Somers also discusses her two marriages, including her romance with Jack Klugman, her former on-screen ex-husband in "The Odd Couple." Her hilarious impression of him singing with his "Gypsy" co-star Ethel Merman is a high point of the cabaret show, according to reviewers.

In April, Somers and Klugman, whose have lived apart since the early 1970s, will perform together for the first time in decades in Fred Stroppel's "Danger, People at Large" at the Quick Center. Performances are Thursday, April 21, through Saturday, April 23, at 8 p.m.

Somers is perhaps best known as the top row center panelist on CBS' popular game show "Match Game." Her sharp-tongued synergy with neighboring panelist Charles Nelson Reilly helped keep "Match Game" audiences laughing for almost a decade, making the show more of a free-wheeling comedy than a game show.

Like Klugman, Somers made many television appearances during the Golden Age of television, including performances in "Philco Playhouse," "Kraft Theater Playhouse 90," "The New Perry Mason," "The Fugitive," and "Ben Casey." Somers' film credits include "Getting There," "Bone" and "A Rage to Live."

Critics have praised Somers for breaking some of the conventions of cabaret.

"The show she brings to the cabaret stage is an absorbing amalgam of reminiscences, anecdotes and autobiography, far more substantial than a singer's usual patter, making the narration rather than the song list the kernel of 'An Evening with Brett Somers,'" wrote Peter Leavy for "Cabaret Scenes."

Tickets are $25. For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information, visit www.quickcenter.com.

Posted On: 04-05-2005 10:04 AM

Volume: 37 Number: 225