Merrill envisioned performing cabaret as a youth in her 20s, but got sidetracked singing opera.  Merrill returned to cabaret in her 30s, and has been using it as her muse for variety, energy, creativity, outrageousness and heart ever since. 

Some of these songs will be showing up on two upcoming cabaret CDs - one humorous, one a different sort.  Check back in the mid-Fall and we'll have an update for you!

Rich, Royal and Powerful
Rich, Royal and Powerful is a character song I created as Prinzess for a German Karneval.  When my husband and I were crowned Prinz and Prinzess, and my “royal tiara” was placed upon my head, out burst this song.  The German Karneval Society had never had a singing Prinzess before, and it shocked and delighted them.  It continues to delight audiences as part of a Princess Diary series.  The original title of this song is “My Christmas Wish.”  Its author, David Friedman, was kind enough to give me permission to change his truly wonderful lyrics to fit the occasion.  I am in the process of completing my first cabaret CD – all humorous songs – and look forward to sending him a royalty check the moment it is pressed.

I Regret Everything
I heard this song on a Patti LaPone CD, and thought, “Oh, I have got to sing this.”  (I also heard it later in a Bette Midler concert.)  This song debuted as the last Prinzess song before the German Karneval Society.  As the music is playing the introduction she says (in a German accent), “Was I a good Prinzess?  History can be the judge of that.  All I have to say is this…”   And then I sang the song with some changed lyrics, to reflect my Prinzess position.  The authors of the song, Bill Burnett and Peggy Sarlin, denied my request to use these lyrics in recording, so listeners will hear the original version – which is quite wonderful but not Prinzessy – in my first cabaret CD.  The recording here was a quick one-take and I goofed the lyrics.  It gives you an idea of the song and how I sing it, but a different rendition will be sold on the CD.

Guardian Angels
Okay, I admit it:  This song is rarely sung in my cabarets.  It’s actually one of the lullabies on my new lullaby CD (and available for sale in the lullaby section).  However, I have recorded almost no ballads – and zero torch ballads, and I thought a more ballady type of sound was needed so you wouldn’t think I just sang loud characters.  I can sing beautifully, too.  It’s just that after the opera years, I have this irrepressible urge to sing indelicately.

I heard this song on an old Mario Lanza Christmas LP almost twenty years ago and fell in love with it.  I kept the album and transcribed the song (wrote it down in musical notation), thinking I would one day record it.  That day came somewhat recently, and it is now on my new lullaby CD.  One of the writers of this song is Harpo Marx, of Marx Brothers fame.  On a Harpo's webpage is a recording of him playing it on the harp.  The other songwriter was Gerda Beilenson.

Yes
Yes comes from hearing Liza Minnelli.  The versions are different because the personalities creating them are different.  Listen to both, if you like, and see what you think.  This song is another one that is so fun to sing!  The moment I start singing it, I feel upbeat and energetic, regardless of how I felt before.  I hope it has the same effect on the listener.

I added a second bridge to this song beginning, “Don’t look back, look right here…”   This is a habit of mine – changing or adding lyrics –, which I am cutting back on because of problems with permissions.  The composers of this song, John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (words), also wrote Cabaret.

The Girl in 14G
The Girl in 14G is especially fun to sing, because it has not one character, but three.  A young adult has moved into an apartment in the big city and found she has a couple of loud neighbors – one sings opera, the other jazz.  The woman who helps me create my cabarets – Ann Thornton – said this song was perfect for me and gave me the music to go learn.  She was right.  I love it.  I changed the opera selection since the original was written for a high coloratura soprano, which I am not.  My part goes up to a high C, but not to the high F in the original.

In live performance I use a Brümhilde hat – a horned Viking hat complete with long blond braids, and a jazz hat to visually create the characters.  This song will also be included in my first cabaret CD.  I will probably rerecord it, as I am not entirely happy with the energy of the first section (too low) and the first jazz part.  Listen to this whole song, even if these parts don’t thrill you.  It just gets better and better, and the ending is enormous fun, both to sing and to hear.  This song is a real audience pleaser.  It was written by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Dick Scanian (words).