As Mel Brooks wrote in The Producers, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!” Some living legends delude themselves and cause fans to quietly cringe, but not this one: Leslie Uggams has still got it. Slender and glinting in sequined black pants, she shimmies and sings her way though the highlights of a lifetime spent onstage. Though she remained somewhat physically restrained during her opening night performance, she made up for it with a vocal dynamism that would shame those less than half her age. When you begin your career at age 6, perform 29 shows a week at the Apollo from the ages of 9 to 16, and graduate to the comparatively cushy (oh, just eight shows per week) world of Broadway, a voice like that’s a requirement. Plenty of jazz standards kept the well-heeled crowd tapping their toes, and Uggams struttin’ her stuff. Showcasing her staggering range, the delicate strokes with which she touched Gershwin’s “Summertime” were no less powerful than her lusty belting of Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” The spoken transitions were a little stiff, and felt forced; naturally, this Broadway baby seemed most at home when singing. It’s better to show than tell anyway; and mimicking the vocal styles of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington (all of whom she’s sung with), she showed why she’s still working over 60 years since she began. Don Rebic leads a sophisticated, happy orchestra that equals Uggams’ mastery. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave.; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 4 & 8 p.m; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Dec. 12. (626) 356-7529.
Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 & 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Nov. 19. Continues through Dec. 12, 2010

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