Carole Cook
Save It for the Stage
Tom Rolla’s Gardenia, West Hollywood, CA, September 25, 2015
Reviewed by Les Traub for Cabaret Scenes
Carole Cook’s journey from her birthplace in Abilene, Texas to a successful career in New York and Hollywood was the basis for her first solo show at Tom Rolla’s Gardenia. In a ninety-minute evening filled with both touching and hilarious stories punctuated now and then with songs, Cook never let the pace lag and was never at a loss for words.
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Even a slight microphone issue, requiring a switch of mics, provided fuel for riotous comments.
While there were a number of entertaining show biz stories, including ones about her mentor, Lucille Ball, and her close friend Ethel Merman, there were as many poignant ones involving a difficult childhood growing up in an atmosphere in which her grandmother referred to her as a “walking beauty violation.” As the creator of the role Maggie Jones in the original Broadway cast of 42nd Street, she dramatically described the famous David Merrick curtain call speech on opening night in which he announced the death of the shows director/choreographer, Gower Champion.
Cook relied on Billy Barnes songs for most of the show’s musical numbers. She opened with his “Here Is My Life” and closed with “The Queen of Equity Waiver,” both were special material written for her. She delivered a beautifully nuanced version of his “(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair,” and set up his “Something Cool” with a vividly descriptive portrait of the song’s subject.
Christopher Marlowe did a superb job as musical director and director David Galligan put it all together in a beautifully delivered package.
