Quinn Lemley
The Heat Is On!
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, September 21, 2021
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
A woman appears in the shadows. Her long, shining, red hair is recognizable.
The audience has already been alerted that we are in for a “hot” time with a quartet of outstanding musicians offering an overture of “Too Darn Hot” and “Heat Wave,” two songs that figure only thematically in the show.
The woman begins a slow, sultry version of another song.
Her song. “Put the Blame on Mame.” Rita Hayworth, “The Love Goddess,” has returned or has never quite left, trapped somewhere between life and whatever awaits afterwards, as she examines exactly who were the heroes and villains of her time on Earth.
Quinn Lemley brings Hayworth back to life, merging her personality and even her body with the screen icon, evoking her career highs and personal lows in a program that is far more a one-person musical play than a traditional cabaret show. Running close to 1:45, it is a full evening (perhaps a bit too full) written and directed by Carter Inskeep and featuring songs, storytelling, and a series of dazzling costume changes completed on stage behind a discreet screen. (The costumes are impressive recreations of those we saw the diva wear in her films.)
Memories of the men in her life are vividly revealed: the father and husbands who abused her, the one she adored who got away (Orson Welles), the one who was a big mistake (Dick Haymes), the one who was fun and glamorous but believed in his rights to have concubines (Prince Ali Kahn), her most frequent co-star and dear friend (Glenn Ford), and the one man who respected her talent and never demanded anything from her except hard work (Fred Astaire). Each of these characters and many others seem to be presented on stage via Lemley’s words and Hayworth’s eyes.
Of course, there is the music: songs associated with Hayworth (“I’m Old Fashioned,” “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”); songs that tell her story (“That’s All,” “The Lady Is a Tramp”); and even a song that she almost sang but lost the chance (“Who’s That Girl?” from the musical Applause). Lemley nails every one of them along with recreations of the some of the dances that go with them, at least as much as possible on the small stage, filled as it is with musicians and her changing area. Music director Tom Wilson provides support every moment of the way, as do Perrin Grace on bass, Patrick Carmichael on drums, and David Milazzo on sax (his solo on “That’s All” was thrilling).
Lemley does it all in this show and does it with confidence and style. Even an occasional costume malfunction (a battle with an opera glove that had a mind of its own) didn’t faze her as she captured all the aspects of the idol, her (sometimes profane) humor, her talent, her weaknesses, her passion, her delusions, and her survival skills. All in all, this was a very memorable evening.
