From the West End to the wild side, fiery-haired songstress Kara Lane — star of Rebecca the Musical and The Addams Family — ignites the stage in her sizzling new cabaret, 50 Shades of Red — a musical journey through the many emotions the colour red dares to reveal. From the blush of first love to the heat of forbidden desire, from the flames of obsession to the burn of heartbreak and fury, Kara paints the town red with her bold and vibrant voice.
Accompanied by acclaimed music director, Simon Beck, and featuring songs that pulse with passion, lust, danger, and devotion, 50 Shades of Red is a sultry, soulful exploration of life lived in full colour. Expect humour, heart, and a few scorch marks…
Review by Stephen Gilchrist
I first saw the wonderful Kara Lane at the Charing Cross Theatre at the back end of 2023, where she gave us her sinister and chilling Mrs. Danvers in Christopher Hampton’s English language version of the German musical of ‘Rebecca’. A great performance if not a great show! She was terrific and so I was delighted to revisit her at Crazy Coqs where she performed an eclectic repertoire of numbers which showed off her talents as a singer and musical theatre performer to the full.
I say eclectic because this was a set which was sensuous, glamorous, funny and dramatic. The theme of the evening was ‘Red’- as a colour, as symbol (as she reminded us) of intense emotions and physical, visceral concepts, representing both love, passion, and desire, as well as danger, rage, and aggression. She bounded on stage in a slinky, clinging red gown and so it was no mean coincidence that one of her numbers was the classic “woman’s blues” song ‘Why Don’t You Do Right’ as sung by Jessica Rabbit, the cartoon character, and renowned as one of the best-known sex symbols in animation.
Her range of material was impressive, from Glynis John’s bouncy number in the movie, ‘Mary Poppins,’ ‘”Sister Suffragette” to a thrilling duet with the excellent Dickon Gough (who guested), as Mrs Lovett and Sweeny Todd in ‘A Little Priest,’ both replete with rolling pin and chopper. Gough has recently appeared as Mordcha the Innkeeper in Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and as Lurch in ‘The Addams Family’ in which Lane also appeared playing Alice Beineke, and from which she gave us the powerful song ‘Waiting’, portraying a character who, at first glance, seems to be the polar opposite of the Addams clan – a picture of suburban normalcy. Yet her lyrics paint a picture of a profound, almost existential waiting. “A woman waits for marriage / A woman waits for children / She waits for her big Mal to come back home”. I recall both of them being outstanding when I visited the show last year.
I am also reminded that Lauren Jones, who played the second Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca, and also guested, was also excellent as Wednesday Addams. At Crazy Coqs she duetted with Lane in a number from Rebecca.
There was a clutch of songs popularised by Linda Eder and written by Eder’s husband, the composer Frank Wildhorn, a couple from Jekyll and Hyde and a delightful number called ‘I’m Afraid This Must Be Love,’ also by Wildhorn but not from a show, I believe
“Cause I hear those violins
And the world breaks out in silly grins
Then I fly to the stars up above
And I’m afraid this must be love”
She delivered a first class ‘Everybody’s Girl’ from Kander and Ebbs, ‘Steel Pier’ and closed the set with a very cute and humorous home grown and own lyric version of ‘You’ll Be Back’ (from Hamilton) decked out as Alice’s Queen of Hearts.
At the keys throughout, sat a smartly dressed Simon Beck, surely one of the best accompanists in the business who any vocalist would be glad to view as his or her right arm in performance. His sometimes tricksy but always empathetic support greatly enhanced the performance.
This was a tremendous cabaret, a prime example of its kind, and Kara Lane is an exceptional performer. She looks good, has an endearing charm, and is a first-class actress and singer. She originates from Australia, but we are lucky to have her.
Song list
Being on the Men (with new lyrics by Kara Lane)
Rocky horror medley
Chandelier (Moulin Rouge section)
Sister Suffragette
Back to Before
Little Pries
Everybody’s Girl
Why Don’t You Do Right (Jessica Rabbit)
Gothic Novel medley (secret garden, Dracula, Wuthering heights, Jekyll & Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, Rebecca)
I’m Afraid This Must Be Love
Waiting
Queen of Hearts (new lyrics by Kara Lane, to the tune of You’ll Be Back from Hamilton)
