By David Roberts for Theatre Reviews Limited, Theatre Reviews Limited

At the end of her recent program at Arci's Place Karen Saunders delivers a song that needs to be the anthem of any nation which intends to survive the next decade (certainly the next four years for those living in the United States). "If We Only Have Love" (Blau/Schuman/Brel) never sounded as good as it does in Karen Saunder's care and its message never demanded more attention. Paired with "Who Can I Turn To" (Bricusse and Newley) this memorable song from the 1968 Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris is the perfect ending to a "concert" by one of cabaret's more memorable stars.

Karen Saunders promises her audience at Arci's Place that by the end of her program they will "know [her] heart." Though that promise is kept, it actually only takes a few songs for the listener to know the spirit of this performer and to appreciate her formidable vocal craft. At first, it would seem that Ms. Saunders is one of those vocalists who knows well how to treat a lyric. Upon closer listening, what becomes apparent is that she not only knows how to work with the lyric of a song, but in fact she and the lyric become partners capable of weaving the most beautiful vocal tapestries. For example it is not a matter of how long Karen Saunders can hold a note but rather how long a particular note wants to be held that is relevant.

The phrasing we hear in Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen's "I've Got The World On A String" is fresh and contemporary yet it matches perfectly the style and soul of the song. Karen Saunders often displays a fearlessness that is unfortunately all too rare on the contemporary cabaret stage. Her willingness to take seriously the lyrics in Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is The Ocean" and Alan J. Lerner and Burton Lane's "What Did I Have" marks her as a performer willing to do whatever it takes to dance with the sprit of a song and in that pas de deux make that song's essence available to her audience.

Karen Saunders allows her audience to believe again (and again) that "there is light at the end of the tunnel." Her pairing of "Old Devil Moon" (Lane/Harburg) and "Maybe This Time" (Kander and Ebb) is nothing less than a one-way ticket to the possibility of a future for humankind. This future is not all somber. There will be then (as there is now) humor and quintessential joy. Perhaps "The Best Is Yet To Come." What is certain is that audiences will have Karen Saunders to help guide them to that future where love makes all things possible.

If we only have love
We can reach those in pain
We can heal all our wounds
We can use our own name
If we only have love
We can melt all the guns
And then give the new word
To our daughters and our sons

Let us hope Karen Saunders will stop by New York and Arci's Place again soon.

Reviewed on Saturday, January 27, 2001