Cabaret favourite on both sides of the Atlantic, Lorna Dallas, returns to Crazy Coqs with her sparkling new show “The Cabaret Files,” a delightful retrospective featuring musical arrangements crafted for her by her American collaborators of the past thirty-five years, musical director Christopher Denny and director Barry Kleinbort. Along with re-visiting perennials by Jerome Kern, Michel Legrand, Stephen Sondheim and James Taylor, Lorna will premiere a few intriguing items created for previous shows that never made the cut. With the ever-redoubtable Simon Beck at the piano, the award-winning Ms. Dallas offers a choice musical evening not to be missed
Review by Stephen Gilchrist
I find it difficult to believe that I first saw the delightful American songstress and actor Lorna Dallas in 1971, as she reminded us, when she played the ingenue lead, Magnolia, in Wendy Toye’s award winning production of Showboat at the Adelphi Theatre. I have seen her a number of times in recent years in cabaret, where she performs regularly on both sides of the Pond. This show demonstrated that her outstanding soprano has weathered the years a lot better than my rickety joints. If it was possible to improve her bright, ringing, and expressive quality of voice, then this show proved it so.
This set was an eclectic mix of, largely, some twenty plus show and film numbers, some better known, many less well known, but all delightfully presented with impeccable phrasing and musicality. Accompanied by maestro Simon Beck on keys, this was a masterclass in cabaret which delighted the packed house who were happy to be swept up in her Shangri-La of song and chat.
This presentation was lovingly curated by Ms Dallas, her US musical director Christopher Denny, and director Barry Kleinbort (who was in the house), to all of which could attributed the noun ‘highlight’. All were highlights but I’ll do my best to pick out a few.
I particularly enjoyed her account of Novello’s ‘My Dearest Dear’ from ‘The Dancing Years’ contrasting it with a jazz influenced ‘Dark Music’, also written by Novello, but particularly for Elizabeth Welch, the American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. The number was from 1943’s ‘Arc de Triumphe’. She also duetted delightfully with Beck in melody and counter melody for ‘You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow’ from Sondheim’s Follies, by way of a charmingly playful ‘By Strauss’, by the Gershwins.
She introduced an apparently unperformed (as yet) 2005 musical written by her director and Joseph Thalken called ‘WAS’- in which an elderly and dementia afflicted Dorothy Gail, the character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his Oz novels, tells her story to Baum. ‘Over the Rainbow’ acted as a prologue to the song ‘WAS’, in which she explains in her lucid moments to Baum what happens to her in her ‘trances’, a heartbreaking yet life affirming song, where she is ‘happy there, so happy there. Where skies are blue and cares are few’.
I was thrilled that she reminded us of her turn as Magnolia with a little backstage gossip, her admiration for Cleo Laine (who played Julie Laverne and whose daughter Jaqui Dankworth was in the house) and then wrapping her glorious soprano around Kern/Hammerstein’s ravishing, soaring love song, ‘You Are Love’ in a superb rhythm driven arrangement. Absolutely gorgeous!
I never get tired of seeing and hearing Ms Dallas. Her elegance, her charm, professionalism and the care with which she treats the numbers in her set, reminds some of us old enough to remember, what cabaret is really about. Above all the show has heart. This was an evening I would wish to remember with warmth, fondness and above all, love.
Song List & Song Credits
THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS / A GLAMOROUS LIFE
Stephen Sondheim A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC film 1977/Irving Berlin ANNIE GET YOUR GUN 1946 (Additional lyric by Barry Kleinbort)
I WISH IT SO
Marc Blitzstein JUNO 1959
SUMMER ME, WINTER ME
Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman, “PICASSO SUMMER” film 1969
I THINK I’M IN LOVE/CHAIN OF LOVE
Music & Lyrics: Ralph Chicorel ANNA KARENINA/ Claibe Richardson and Kenward Elmslie THE GRASS HARP 1970
BY STRAUSS:
George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin THE SHOW IS ON, 1936 (with special lyrics and musical extension by Barry Kleinbort)
MY DEAREST DEAR
Ivor Novello & Christopher Hassall
THE DANCING YEARS 1939
DARK MUSIC
Ivor Novello, ARC DE TRIOMPHE, 1943
I LOVE YOU / SUDDENLY IT’S SPRING
Cole Porter MEXICAN HAYRIDE, 1944 /Johnny Burke & Jimmy van Heusen LADY IN THE DARK film 1944
LET’S FLY AWAY/LET’S GET AWAY FROM IT ALL
Cole Porter THE NEW YORKERS 1930/ Matt Dennis and Tom Adair 1941
(With special lyrics by Barry Kleinbort)
YOU’RE GONNA LOVE TOMORROW
Stephen Sondheim FOLLIES 1971
OVER THE RAINBOW / WAS
Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg THE WIZARD OF OZ film 1939 / Barry Kleinbort and Joseph Thalken WAS 2005
AS I REMEMBER HIM / AND I WAS BEAUTIFUL
Portia Nelson 1961 / Jerry Herman DEAR WORLD 1969
NOBODY ELSE BUT ME
Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II SHOW BOAT Revival 1946
YOU ARE LOVE/
Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II SHOW BOAT 1927
SECRET O LIFE
James Taylor 1977
LORNA DALLAS’ long, distinguished and varied career began at the age of 17…from winning a nationwide talent contest in New York to the Metropolitan Opera National Company to starring in SHOW BOAT in London with Dame Cleo Laine. Following this record-breaking production awarded a special Tony Award, Lorna starred in other musicals to great acclaim…HELLO DOLLY! with Danny LaRue, KISMET, RATEPAYER’S IOLANTHE. SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM, and European premiere of CLOSER THAN EVER among others.
She had her own BBC series and numerous tv specials in Europe, Hong Kong and Australia. She was guest soloist with major orchestras worldwide from Carnegie Hall, Cadogan Hall, Royal Albert Hall, London Palladium to Brisbane Concert Hall.
Her acting credits include films UNITED 93, INSDE OUT plus various TV series in the UK. She presented UNITED 93 to President Bush in a special screening at the White House. Her CD, THE GIRL I KNEW, was awarded CD of the Year.
Her album RAINBOWS with a 33-piece orchestra was recently released on Stage Door Records with bonus tracks. Among her many awards include a special Bistro Award for “Consummate Cabaret Artistry” in 2020. She passionately embraces the art of cabaret…
Lorna is a most distinguished and revered artist in the cabaret scene… and a perennial favorite among her fellow artists and an artist held in the highest esteem.
She is delighted to be celebrating her almost 35-year collaboration with Barry Kleinbort and Chris Denny in her new show, CABARET FILES at Crazy Coqs on June 9th…the London premiere of this new show. She will be accompanied by her London “go to” pianist Simon Beck. This show is packed with musical arrangements that were premiered in London…. some that just didn’t make it in to later shows….and personal favorites…. a veritable musical feast!