Sara Jean Ford
An Evening with the Aging Ingenue
The Green Room 42, NYC, September 22, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Sara Jean Ford
Sara Jean Ford may identify as an “aging ingenue,” but nothing in her marvelous voice and a fine interpretations of the lyrics comes close to the suggesting that she is even slightly past her expiration date. But then, the show was not about herself; it was about her YouTube creation, Claire Cook—more about that in a bit. Her voice soared on a smart pairing of “Home” from Maury Yeston’s Phantom and “Think of Me” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version (in which she played the role of Christine Daaé on Broadway). Her crystalline voice and immaculate enunciation, coupled with an actor’s ability to illuminate lyrics, made every song of the evening a highlight. The charming “How Lovely to Be a Woman,” the slyly sardonic “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore,” and terrific set in tribute to somewhat masochistic/man-controlled musical heroines that included “Something Wonderful,” “What’s the Use of Wonderin’,” and “As Long as He Needs Me,” were all presented without irony or commentary.
The problem with the show was there was either too little or too much about Claire. She seemed to be present to make sardonic comments about the material (like Sabina’s out-of-character complaints in The Skin of Our Teeth) along with a few stray references to a vile ex-husband. There was no on-stage explanation for who she was (beyond the introduction), and for audience members not familiar with the YouTube series it was mystifying and, much worse, distancing.
If Ford wants her show to be a character-driven evening, she needs to spend more time developing and presenting her alter ego to the audience.
The music direction throughout was provided by the excellent pianist David Hancock Turner. Tasteful vocal backup was sung by Georgia Mendes and Andrea Jones Sojola; the latter took an exciting solo on a contemporary version of “Almost There” (Gloria Shayne/Jack Keller) that added some variety to the evening. The show was directed and co-written by Cameron Dingwall, who does that for the YouTube series. The program certainly ran smoothly and professionally and held the audience’s attention. Even though the concept requires some retooling, no improvement is needed on Ford’s thrilling delivery of “Back to Before” and or her non-ironic take on “Maybe” from Annie. It will be interesting to see what developments Ford and her colleagues will bring to the show.
