No joke: 'SNL' alum Ebersole has song in her heart

Plain wonderful is the way to describe Christine Ebersole's jazzy, polished 80-minute set Saturday night at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. The two-time Tony Award winner tickled the audience right off the bat by crooning "Fascinating Rhythm" with her four-piece combo, cupping her hands over her mouth midway through the song and doing a fine, funny impersonation of a muted trumpet.

That was as close as Ebersole came to a gimmick all night. The onetime "Saturday Night Live" cast member (1981-82) was a droll cutup when she wanted to be -- her between-song patter included wry running gags subverting her own glamour and a wide-eyed remark about Washington being the Hollywood of the East Coast -- but the music was largely serious, and splendid.

The song choices skewed toward the first half of the 20th century, many of them keyed to times when the economy is down around the nation's ankles. Ebersole dryly introduced "I've Got Five Dollars" as being perfect for the holiday shopping season, then delivered the sunny tune to an irresistible finger-snapping tempo. She described Stephen Foster as "a man of great compassion" and sang his "Hard Times Come Again No More" exactly that way; accompanied just by music director John Oddo on piano, Ebersole sounded a bit like a mournful Joan Baez chiming a lament.

Her voice has a good deal of range and color; the ballad "How Little We Know," which Ebersole delivered with high sweetness, couldn't have been more delicate, yet she also flaunted operetta chops during the loopy Victor Herbert-Harry B. Smith "Art Is Calling for Me." She swings easily and comes straight at the melodies; it's hard to think of a performer in the Barbara Cook Spotlight series who has shown more faith in her material while relying on so few obvious choices.

Ebersole sang nothing from "Grey Gardens" (for which she earned her second Tony) but did offer the title tune from "42nd Street" (her first Tony winner), turning it into a tour de force that began as a smoky noir adventure before exploding into hot jazz. The instrumental solos were sharp, and Ebersole brought the number home with her gutsiest singing of the night.

More typical were the straight, understated takes on lovely standards like "Lost in His Arms" and "Bill," both of which brimmed with feeling. Ebersole, a consummately assured performer, has an intriguing presence: She is a natural comedienne with a deep well of emotion that's never quite out of sight. That put dramatic tension in long, direct phrases that were often uncannily earnest and compelling; her slow, rueful "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" turned out to be a plaintive down-and-out masterpiece -- simple but gripping, and surprisingly close to heartbreaking.

There were more like that -- "The Music That Makes Me Dance" was a particularly delicious slow burn -- plus just-for-kicks stuff like an Eartha Kitt imitation during "Monotonous." It was as satisfying a set as the excellent Barbara Cook series has offered so far; Ebersole's a singer to treasure.

Pressley is a freelance writer.