Anthony Santelmo, Jr. and Valerie diLorenzo at Helen’s

Anthony Santelmo, Jr., long a cabaret favorite who performed in various clubs, found a home at Helen’s. Anthony is a formidable talent with a lot going for him. He has a winning performing personality, lots of humor, a big beautiful voice and a commitment to “seek out the tunes” (more of that later). He is a constant and consistent audience pleaser. This time out, he has chosen to share the stage with a female singer. With voices that blend marvelously, he and Valerie diLorenzo sing duets. Trade witticisms and generally have a good time.

As the show began, tech director Shane Matthews dimmed the house lights and announced them. Tex Arnold, at the piano, struck the opening notes as the two singers made an impressive entrance, moving separately up the two aisles, singing “O Sole Mio,” gloriously a capella in Italian. They met on stage to transition into “Bella Notte” (Sonny Burke and Peggy Lee) and paid tribute to their Italian backgrounds.

In each show, Anthony’s audience of regulars expect him to speak about his mission to “seek out the tunes,” and in this program, as always, he found a potpourri of songs that proves he knows he knows how to put together a show. From the Marvin Hamlisch/Marilyn and Alan Bergman “The Last Time I Felt Like This,” to a reprise of the song at the end of the show, the selections were charming (Rupert Holmes’ “Perfect Strangers” and Bobby Darin and Johnny Mercer’s “Two of A Kind”), funny (Berlin’s “An Old Fashioned Wedding”), touching (Sondheim’s “Too Many Mornings” from Follies), unusual (“Come Back to the River,” a lovely original song by Karen Benedetto) and more. Just a great lineup; a deft mixture of old and new, standards and lesser known numbers. There isn’t space to list them all, but you get the idea, and you should be inspired to go see and hear these singers, when they do the show again.

Regarding Anthony’s choice of a partner, this reviewer could not fault Valerie’s exquisite voice and the pleasing sound of their harmonies. She’s a beautiful, statuesque, blonde, who should think more carefully about what she wears on stage. She should resist the bad idea of awkwardly climbing up on the piano, and cut the unnecessary vulgarity in her patter. She doesn’t have to do things that work against her considerable gifts as a singer. ‘nuff said. Getting past that quibble, I can tell you that you will enjoy this duo greatly, when they appear again.