Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Review - For a Good Time Call . . . (The Duplex Cabaret Theatre)

Stage Buzz Review by Byrne Harrison

One’s a cute blonde with a killer smile. The other’s a tall, sultry redhead. Both have voices that are equally at home belting or crooning. And they sure know how to work a crowd.
Even though For a Good Time Call . . . marks the cabaret debut of its stars, Melissa Driscol and Hannah Ingram, that’s not to say that the girls are inexperienced. Both are proud members of the USO World Show Troupe, “The Liberty Belles,” and have performed for military audiences all over the country. They also have a solid background in musical theatre, having performed in shows from My Fair Lady to Beauty and the Beast.

The eclectic mix of songs in For a Good Time Call . . . nicely shows off Driscol and Ingram’s talents. Their versions of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Billy-A-Dick” and Cole Porter’s “Friendship” show that they can swing and jive with the best of them. They demonstrate a similar talent for introspection with Ingram’s quiet and contemplative “As Long As I Can Dream,” by their accompanist, Robby Stamper, and Driscoll’s heartbreaking take on “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt.

But where Driscol and Ingram really shine is in their comic numbers. In Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler’s “Nothing I Wouldn’t Do,” the ladies are being wooed by the same man and are willing to go to hilarious extremes to outdo each other. Ingram sings of her attraction to the follicly-challenged in “I Want Them . . . ” (also by Goldrich and Heisler) and does it so well that no doubt several men in the audience thought of heading to a barber. Driscol follows up with Julie Brown’s “‘Cause I’m a Blond,” a tribute to the girl who knows all the boys want her and all the girls want to be her. Their final comic duet is the uproarious “Making Love Alone” by Marilyn Miller and Cheryl Hardwick. Suffice it to say, it’s about exactly what you think it’s about.

Driscol and Ingram promise a good time and they certainly deliver in this enjoyable show.

Performed by Melissa Driscol and Hannah Ingram

The Duplex Cabaret Theatre
Mondays, April 3, 10, 17, 24 and May 8 at 9:30 pm