NITELIFE EXCHANGE REVIEW BY DARYL GLEN
"What a touching and terrific show it was. Constantly reinforced as I trudge forward in this world we call cabaret, it’s not so much about the voice (although Hector’s is quite pleasant and appealing) and in fact it’s often not about the voice at all! It’s about the performer’s unique ability to get to the meaning (as they see it) of a song and to intimately convey this to his/her audience. It’s about the acting and the connection. Hector has this down pat. To illustrate this point I once more allude to my aversion to much of the contemporary musical theatre(ish) material of late. I often find modern theatrical songs to be simply (often) unrhyming poems set to some sort of chord progression and a number of the numbers here certainly fall into this category (“Another New York Aftenoon” by Christine Lavin, “Snow White” by Zoe Lewis, “A Tomb With A View” and, yes, even “My Dogs” by William Finn). However, Hector is such a tremedously terrific performer that he breathes an inner life into these tunes that I would have not thought possible. Of course, being the marvelous award-winning songwriter he is himself most of the choices are impeccable and include some true gems that many of us might not have discovered otherwise (“Every Day With You” by Brett Kristofferson, “For Love Alone” by Michael Feinstein & Marshall Barer and a couple stunners by Ben Folds (“Fred Jones, Part 2” and “The Luckiest”). Particularly effective are a coupling of “Life Is...” from Zorba (John Kander & Fred Ebb) with “You Gotta Die Sometime” from Falsettoland (Finn) and what has truly become Hector’s personal anthem, “As We Stumble Along” from The Drowsy Chaperone (Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison). The real question is, how can a show about death be so darned life-affirming? It is. - 11/26/10

TALKIN' BROADWAY: SOUND ADVICE REVIEW BY ROB LESTER:
"A cabaret show about death? Well, yes. And more specifically, it's also accepting mortality and making the most of life. But maybe Hector Coris is just the guy to pull it off without filling it with gloom and doom or Pollyanna preachiness. A down-to-earth performer with a strong sense of humor and irony, he pulls his songs from various musical genres into an eclectic mix: Two songs each from William Finn, Ben Folds and the team of Kander & Ebb are parts of the repertoire.

Seen in a couple of revues with his own clever lyrics (alas, none in this debut solo show), Hector is good at directly communicating with an audience, as can be gleaned from this live recording from his Life Is Wonderful show which has had several performances at the popular club Don't Tell Mama in Manhattan's theatre district.

On the more tenderly crooned and pensively rendered songs, he reveals a gentle, attractive sound imbued with vulnerability. He is perhaps at his best with wry observations in song and those which tell little slice-of-life stories like "Another New York Afternoon" by Christine Lavin. An interesting choice that gives him a chance to act and question life and consider death is David Caldwell's "A Tomb with a View" about buying a cemetery plot. "Every Day with You" is another satisfying choice; its music and lyrics are by Brett Kristofferson, the young songwriter honored at this year's Bistro Awards, and he's someone whose work Hector has had on his plate as a director of cabaret shows with singer Angela Shultz who, in turn, directed his act. There are humorous moments here, too, with a couple of slices of ham and some that happily insinuate themselves into the story-songs and the included patter. The Drowsy Chaperone's "As We Stumble Along" starts off in a low-key, sweet way that is surprisingly effective and builds to a blustery, brash conclusion. Here, Hector shows his musical comedy side, something loopy in case we feared things would get droopy. But the mood is more life-affirming than mournful. Having two songs about the deaths of animals lets us stay on topic with some variety and whimsy.

This is a performance which has as its key strength its thought-provoking communication rather than bravura or weepy singing or anything grand scale. (Accompaniment is just pianist Ray Bailey and Dale Henderson on cello, who generally keep things appropriate intimate—and there are bursts of energy when needed.) While taking us on some diverting side trips, Hector still keeps the focus on the spoiler alert news flash that we are all destined to die so we need a little carpe diem when we can get it. In other words, he never ignores the subject at hand of Death, the "elephant in the room." That is literally addressed with his plucky performance of "The Elephant Song," from Kander & Ebb's 70 Girls 70 about the demise of a favorite zoo animal, and confronted plainly in William Finn's "You Gotta Die Sometime." But Hector wisely keeps coming back to the here and now, savored as something more precious with the sober reminder of limited time ... tick-tick-tick. - Rob Lester, Talkin' Broadway

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CABARET SCENES REVIEW
Not a spoiler alert, considering there’s a simple pine coffin on the CD cover and a glance at the song list shows—right below “You Gotta Die Sometime” (William Finn)— Cancer” (My Chemical Romance) in all its tumor essence: Life Is Wonderful purports to supposedly be about death. Here’s the spoiler alert: L’Chaim. From the opening title song (Jason Mraz)— made the more involving by Ray Bailey’s musical direction, piano and smart arrangement and Dale Henderson’s strong, almost classical, dexterous execution (no pun) on cello—coupled with “Life Is...” (Kander & Ebb) this show about death has life. “New York Afternoon” (Christine Lavin), the metaphoric “Fred Jones, Part 2” (Ben Folds) and “My Dogs” (Finn, again), are examples of quiet, mortal, everyman every-day-a-little-death (how did you miss it, H.C.?) disappointments right to the end. And, Hector, part of the irony is that there are sometimes, for better or worse, encores. Remember Glenn Close popping up out of that bathtub? But only serious sincerity for pieces like “Every Day with You” (Brett Kristofferson) from Mr. Coris, who makes, what is, in most per-formers’ sets, pleasant patter, universal truths and feelings felt. Hector doesn’t merely talk, he hectors us about these sensations during and between numbers. His syllables speak sentences. All is so well realized, blending clean, clear, attractive vocals with precise lyric interpretation, that the songs are almost interludes illustrating the theme: so integrated is the whole timeless (tick-tock) story. Which is, claw at your chest as you may, the masochists may be on to something: the pain is party to the pleasure. The mess is the message. Don’t be afraid of the spectre with the scythe. Listen to this generous hour of pseudo-cynicopated outrespection. Live a little. - Noah Tree, Cabaret Scenes, October 2010

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"It's always exciting to find recordings by performers that celebrate its history in new and imaginative ways. One such recording is Hector Coris' Life is Wonderful. recorded live at Don't Tell Mama in New York City. Coris named his delightfully original cabaret show Life is Wonderful. but, ironically, that was a decision to sugarcoat the fact that his chosen songs are really about death. Mr. Coris is best when performing famous and lesser known Broadway gems. Life is from Kander and Ebb's Zorba, The Elephant Song from Kander and Ebb's 70, Girls, 70, My Dogs from William Finn's song cycle Elegies and You Gotta Die Sometime from Finn's Falsettos are standouts. If you love Broadway and beyond then MAC Award-winning performer Coris shows us that there is definitely life (and its possible repercussions) off of The Great White Way." - Joseph Gordon, Gilbert Examiner, AZ

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"By the time this genial and neuroses-filled disc has ended, listeners will probably find themselves agreeing with its title. Coris brings together a grand array of tunes -- both well-known and obscure -- to celebrate just makin' it through. Some highlights include a gentle, yet still forceful, take on William Finn's "Gotta Die Sometime" (from Falsettoland), a dynamic "As We Stumble Along" (from The Drowsy Chaperone) and the thoroughly hilarious "Snow White," which describes one particularly bad day at Disneyland." - Andy Propst, Theatremania.com