Dining Out

Review: A little night music at the Raven in New Hope

Terri White

Terri White

By Herb Millman and John Dwyer

Like many of our friends, busy work schedules mean going out less often than we’d like. And after a while, one restaurant or club can seem just like any other. One can become jaded and say, ‘why bother?’  If not for reviews, we would never get out in the evening at all.

Well, that’s about to change. We recently went to the Raven to review a show, and we realized that we had not visited in about six years. Shame on us.

The stage was near the pool, and there were tables and chairs, as well as lounge chairs throughout the area. You would never think that you were in New Hope…it was more like being at a resort in Key West. Waiters politely served cocktails to audience members lounging in recliners while watching the show. As the sky darkened, the romantic lighting in the pool area glowed more brightly. Prior to the show, we also toured the newly-renovated restaurant, which looks great.

For the evening’s entertainment, we had the privilege of seeing Broadway diva Terri White. We had seen her in Follies and Finian’s Rainbow during our visits to New York. She had also appeared in the Broadway production of Barnum and Ain’t Misbehavin’ and many other shows on Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as regional theater.

If you enjoy listening to standards and Broadway show tunes, White is a must see. She had the audience in the palm of her hand. She sang, of course, but she also recounted her very colorful career,  joked, danced and even played a collection of half-filled bottles as a musical instrument. Amazing! And the lady has a set of pipes that you would not believe. Her haunting rendition of Everything Must Change and her stirring Being Alive are the best you will ever hear. It is no wonder that she won the 2013 Broadway.com Cabaret Award for Best One Show Special Event. She currently has two CD’s available, The Lady’s Got to Sing and Upon Request, and we purchased both after the show). We also had an opportunity to talk with Terri, and she said that she is working on another Broadway project.

Now back to the Raven: We view the Raven as a one-stop shop — you have a fine dining restaurant (with a piano), a bar, a dance floor, a cabaret room (with a piano) and a pool area. What more does one need if one is on on vacation or just wants an afternoon or evening out? The Raven is a true resort rolled into one location. We’ll be back soon.

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