Review: Dialing for divas

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The hazard of a show like Christina Bianco's Diva Moments, with its heavy reliance on celebrity impersonations, is that when the performer drops the other personas to let the audience see her own, it had better be in the same class as the people she's parodying so skillfully.

No worries. Ms. Bianco (who played he Gaslight Theatre Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17) wisely started the show not as one of her many satirical personas but rather as her own dynamically entertaining self, with a take-no-prisoners performance of one of the great anti-torch song numbers of all time, "Wherever He Ain't" (from Mack and Mabel, which played the Muny here in St. Louis on its way to a 1974 Broadway failure). By first taking the stage as herself, she established her own strength as a solo performer and created a solid foundation for the brilliantly funny collection of diva impressions that made up the bulk of the show.

And what a remarkable array of spot-on accurate parodies those were. Ms. Bianco set the bar pretty high in her performance of Kander and Ebb's "Cabaret" as it might have been done by Barbara Streisand, Bernadette Peters, Judy Garland, Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, Julie Andrews, and (finally and most absurdly) Celine Dion. With just a few bits of body language and eerily accurate vocal mimicry, she perfectly captured the idiosyncrasies that characterized those legendary performers. I especially loved her Andrews, but they were all remarkable.

That could have been a tough bit to follow, but she and music director Brad Simmons wisely segued to a pair of quick comic sketches--Julie Andrews doing the Donna Summer hit "Hot Stuff" and Streisand emoting her way through the theme from Cheers--on their way to a delightful duet of Randy Newman's "Short People" that allowed Ms. Bianco to comment humorously on her own diminutive stature.

I don't want to suggest that the evening was all laughs, though. There was, for example, a lovely version of "Over the Rainbow" (sung both straight and as July Garland) that led without pause into a touchingly straightforward rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star." And her performance of "Why Try to Change Me Now?," the 1952 Cy Coleman/Joseph McCarthy, Jr., number that has become something of a cabaret classic, perfectly captured the lyric's wry self-assessment.

Praise is also due to Mr. Simmons for his well-tailored arrangements, his vocal harmonies, and his willingness to go along for the ride during some of the more freewheeling moments in the show. Even he had to drop out, though, and let Ms. Bianco go a cappella in an improvised version of Bernstein's "Somewhere" as it might have been sung by Ethel Merman. Fortunately, her rapport with both him and the audience made it easy for everyone to go along for the ride.

I could go on, but you get the idea. "Diva Moments" was a very well-balanced mix of satire and sincerity that was a fine addition to the strong lineup of performers in the fall edition of Jim Dolan's Gaslight Cabaret Festival. The festival takes a brief holiday hiatus and then picks up again next month with "Storm Large's Holiday Ordeal." Consider yourself warned.

As for Christina Bianco and Brad Simmons, by the time you read this, they will have moved on to their next gig, but you can keep track of her world travels at her web site. It's chock full of videos and images that make it an entertaining destination all by itself.

Review: Alice Ripley's new show is fearless but could use a bit of fine tuning at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, October 21 and 22, 2017

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Alice Ripley

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Broadway star Alice Ripley strikes me as fiercely courageous performer.

Back in 2010 at the Fox in a tour of Next to Normal, her Diana (a role she created on Broadway), was a dynamic and deeply troubled force of nature despite Ms. Ripley's audible vocal fatigue. You can argue about whether performing under vocal stress was a good idea or not, but there's no question that it took real guts.

I saw that same "go for broke" bravery in the opening number of her latest cabaret show, which had its world premiere at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival this weekend (Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22). It was Leon Russell's soulful "A Song for You," expanded and extended to include volcanic outbursts of passion and even some idiosyncratic scatting. This was a kind of post-Wagnerian elaboration that left me wondering where the heck she was going with it and then being impressed with the destination. She broke the rules, took chances, and ultimately succeeded.

Which was essentially what she did for the entire evening.

At around ninety minutes, that evening was maybe a bit longer than it should have been, and if I were directing this show I'd suggest possibly making cuts in the first half, which consisted of dramatically charged renditions of pop songs from the sixties and beyond. Sometimes, as in a fiercely vulnerable version of Aaron Neville's 1966 "Tell It Like It Is," the results were gripping. But ultimately there were too many deeply felt ballads in a row for me and I began to tune out.

I tuned back in, though, for Ms. Ripley's chatty and engaging patter, which related the songs to her life without descending into the kind of embarrassingly personal details that sometimes mars that approach. At no point did I want to shout "too much information!" Good for her.

And I really tuned in for the second half, which consisted of piansit/music director Brad Simmons's beautifully arranged medleys from some of the many hit Broadway shows in Ms. Ripley's impressive resume. I was particularly taken with the three numbers from Sunset Boulevard, the show in which she played the role of Betty when it opened on Broadway in 1994. She said she'd love to play Norma Desmond now, and if the powerful way she delivered "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye" is any indication, she is definitely ready for her close-up.

Brad Simmons
Photo: Kevin Alvey

The collection of tunes from the 1992 stage version of Tommy bubbled with raucous joy and Ms. Ripley's heartfelt performance of "I Miss the Mountains," Diana's first big number in Next to Normal, was a reminder of why she got that 2009 Tony award.

Mr. Simmons, it should be noted, contributed not only impeccably well-tailored arrangements but great vocals as well. When he and Ms. Ripley sang close harmony-as they did several times-it was such a thing of beauty that I was willing to ignore the fact that they were facing each other and not actively involving the audience. That should have been a turn-off, but wasn't. Their performance chemistry was irresistable.

So, yeah, this new show (the working title of which would appear to be "The Ripley Prescription") needs some fine tuning, but it's an impressive, theatrically potent piece already. For Ms. Ripley's fans, who were present in force the night I saw the show, The Ripley Prescription was just what the doctor ordered. For me, it was a demonstration of her vocal versatility and substantial acting chops. I expect that the show will be another feather in her already highly decorated cap before long.

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues through November 11th at the Gaslight Theatre in the Central West End. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.