Amanda Ferguson
Ladies of the ’80s
Pangea, NYC, March 25, 2022
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Amanda Ferguson has a gorgeous, big, Broadway-sounding voice
as well as a fine understanding of how to create characters through lyrics and
movement. So why was her show devoted to the pop queens of the ’80s only
sporadically wonderful? Blame it on the material she chose.
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Too much of it was
simply not theatrically interesting. There was no question that she loved this
music and her passion carried her as far as it could go, but that just wasn’t
enough. She eventually reached that amazing moment when her particular talent
and intelligence and the song came together, but that came later.
The evening kicked off with a musical video of “Gloria,” the high-energy song slowed down to fall somewhere between film noir and camp. Later in the evening, Ferguson sang the song live to better effect and with more energy. Of course, it helped that her on-stage musicians were of the highest quality. They included Peter Calo on guitar; Skip Ward on bass; and Gene Lewin on drums. The lack of a piano gave the arrangements a very appropriate pop sound. Kicking off the live concert with “I’m So Excited”—a great choice—there was an apparent close connection between singer and instrumentalists that enlivened each selection.
However, the problem was that many of the selections (“Mad About You,” “Invincible”/“I Am the Warrior,” “Straight Up”) were conceived as dance music with a thumping beat and high-energy lyrics and were totally empty of emotions. Not even as fine a singing actress as Ferguson could inject anything very deep into them. Some variety came with a dirty blues version of “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and a country sound blending into rock in the medley of “Heartache” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” She certainly found some depth within “Almost Over You” to give a taste to what was to come.
And then it came. The moment when talent and creativity and intelligence blend to make something unforgettable. The song was “Private Dancer,” a high-octane hit for Tina Turner. Ferguson slowed it way down, added a flamenco flair with the guitar, and imbued it with a physical sensuality. She explored who the woman was who was singing this song—a vulnerable, almost tragic figure whose boiling undercurrent of hatred for the men she “entertains” barely masks her own despair and self-hatred. It was the kind of performance an audience waits for and responds to with cheers.
Ferguson’s patter throughout was relaxed and personal; she happily jousted with her friends and family in the audience and stated the background for her selections with a constant refrain of “Wikipedia told me!” The star has so much to offer; hopefully, in the future she will select more material more worthy of her abilities.
