Lorna Dallas
Snapshots
Chelsea Table + Stage, NYC, November 3, 2024
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Photo: Stephen Mosher
In any legitimate dictionary, next to the definition of “luminous” would be a picture of Lorna Dallas. The soprano drew on a lengthy career in musical theater on both sides of the Atlantic and demonstrated all that she had learned on stage as she recalled Snapshots of her life. The show at Chelsea Table + Stage was illuminated by her carefully chosen songs. She was given the finest of support by music director Christopher Denny and director Barry Kleinbort (they collaborated on the imaginative arrangements), which made this a truly splendid evening of musical and emotional highlights.
A theme-setting blend of two John Kander and Fred Ebb tunes, “Remember” and “The Happy Time,” was followed by a second medley of “Snapshots” (Harvey Schmidt/Tom Jones, from their musical version of Our Town) and another Kander & Ebb gem, “Walking Among My Yesterdays.” With some singers, performing four tunes about the same topic might become repetitious, but under Dallas’ control they each one was presented different aspects of that topic resulting in different emotional reactions to each; this was a gift. So was her ability to evoke another artist’s personality; she provided a delicious imitation of Dame Patricia Routledge when she belted out a breathless rendition of “I Think I May Want to Remember Today” (David Shire/Richard Maltby, Jr.).
Another comic highlight was her performances of three versions of “Stranger in Paradise” (Robert Wright/George Forrest): classical, nightclub-ish, and in German. That last version recounted the time when she was doing theater, a night spot, and a German broadcast all at the same time. What a demonstration of her versatility this was! A raucous duet with Denny on “Flash Bang Wallop” (David Heneker) was another joy. On the other hand, Dallas’ powerful delivery of “Blues in the Night” (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) was a prime example of torch singing, and her medley of “Paris Reminds Me” (Ivor Novello) and “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II) possessed the purity of a prayer.
The stories Dallas shared were also by turns touching and humorous, which allowed the audience to get to know her much better. And she had surprises in her tales and her selections, such as the debut performance of the lovely song, “Stillness,” by Kleinbort and the blending of the contrasting moods of “Simple” (Maury Yeston) and “Take the Moment” (Richard Rodgers/Stephen Sondheim). That was magical, as was the whole evening.
