Piaf is joined by Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, and Maria Callas to give chanteuse Bethany Thomas a chance to regale us with vocal impressions so finespun that you too might imagine that recordings of these legendary divas are now going to sound counterfeit. Breathtaking, startling, stunning, astonishing — this writer can’t think of enough synonyms to say Thomas amazes.
Northlight Theatre Re-Opens with Compelling Script
It’s not the divas though who are so engaging, in this writer’s view. Rather, it’s the parade of personalities that are the nobodies touched by these divas. Thomas seamlessly moves from diva song to each vignette’s narrator, sometimes with help from Lighting Designer Jesse Klug but often just with a change of accent and posture. We come to know the interior life of the woman in the posh ladies’ room on standby to hand out towels, an early female reporter trying to find her way in a man’s world, a nanny who today would wear a #metoo t-shirt, and more. They each get less than fifteen minutes of fame — but it is long enough for each to claim our hearts. Playwright Joanna Murray-Smith has distilled and bottled the everywoman into each of these vignettes, and especially their pain. This writer imagines she could ask for no better performer than Thomas to bring her script to life.
