Concertgoers came to the big tent at Crooners in Fridley on a chilly, windy Wednesday night sporting quilted coats, stocking caps, blankets and COVID masks. The star they came to see, cabaret queen Marilyn Maye, was bathed in bling: rhinestone bracelets and sparkling earrings, black sequined pants, a shimmering gold jacket and, naturally, a sequined mask.
Never at a loss for words, Maye unleashed her wit in a sung introduction to her opening number, "It's a Most Unusual Day."
"This afternoon it rained," she cooed. "It's lovely now … kind of."
The crowd chuckled.
The wind slapped the sides of Crooners' big concert tent like hockey pucks smacking off a goalie's stick. But Maye never missed a beat.
"This is a new experience," she declared after the first tune in the heated big top with nearly 100 people.
"The tightrope act was going to be so good," she continued with mock sadness. Pianist Billy Stritch responded with a little circus music that had the crowd guffawing.
An irresistible mix of old-school shtick and classic interpretive singing, the bejeweled, becoiffed and beguiling Maye thrilled the socially distanced, bundled-up crowd for nearly 90 minutes at the opening of her five-night stand that continues through Sunday.
