Shannon Daley
Love and Let Die: Confessions of a Bond Girl
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, June 28, 2024
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Sometimes things that happen in a cabaret room aren’t really cabaret. Love and Let Die: Confessions of a Bond Girl is musical theater, perhaps jukebox musical theater, but theater nonetheless. It stars, was written and costumed, and has film editing by the remarkable Shannon Daley. In it, she completely embodied her character of Sylvia Trench, the longtime woman in a master spy’s life. Discretion may have more or less kept her out of the public eye, as did the many films that recounted his escapades, but she was always there in the background, admiring, loving, waiting for, and mooning over him, no matter what his face was wearing at the time. The show, under the deft direction of Lennie Watts, was campy and heartbreaking, absurd and very romantic, witty and very serious—quite an achievement.
The musical content consisted of the songs from the various James Bond films, from Thunderball to Spectre, along with some clever mixing in of other standards, such as a blend of “Diamonds Are Forever” (Don Black/John Barry) and the best-known Broadway tune sung by the most famous expert on diamonds. The arrangements by music director John Fischer were inventive and expanded the songs’ impact well beyond what piano and bass (Jerry DeVore) could do in support of Daley’s powerful voice.
The star’s delivery varied throughout the show, which provided variety. She went from being glamorous and sultry in “You Only Live Twice” (John Barry/Leslie Bricusse) to being powerfully emotional in the great ballad “For Your Eyes Only” (Bill Conti /Michael Leeson). She wonderfully torched “Moonraker” (Hal David/Barry) and displayed a sardonic sense of humor in “Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (Bricusse/Barry). The extensive videos helped to illustrate the story and added some wry humor of their own, such as when Pierce Brosnan’s used binoculars to have check out Daniel Craigh as he emerged from the ocean. Daley’s costumes throughout were fabulous, glamorous, and just a bit camp.
The only flaw of the evening was a bit too much of everything. One less video montage, one less costume change, and some tightening of the spoken word in both editing and delivery would have greatly improved the show. A return to the rehearsal room by Daley, Fischer, and Watts would pay off and polish this intriguing show. Hats off to Adam DeCarlo who coordinated the lighting, sound, and videos smoothly and with great imaginations.
