Author of the article:
Fish Griwkowsky
Published Aug 16, 2024 • Last updated 1day ago • 2 minute read
A Cabaret of Legends
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FRINGE REVIEW: A Cabaret of Legends a stunning display of song and history Back to video
Stage 13, La Cité Francophonie (8627 91 St.)
5 stars out of 5
As a standard bearer for almost an entire century of music, you really couldn’t do better than badass burlesque diva Tymisha Harris.
This casual, conversational musical cabaret taking us in song through the history of Black and female global superstar performers from Nina Simone to Beyoncé is like a Wikipedia page on acid.
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Kicking off with First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald, Harris hits all the right notes as she unrolls history about her immortal subjects, inhabiting Josephine Baker’s Blue Skies, soaring through Billie Holiday’s All of Me.
“Let me tell you another sh*tty fact,” she grimly laughs, noting the particularly awful way Lady Day’s husband swindled her.
Still, despite infestations of abusive leeches and FBI scum harassing these legends as they tried (and still try) to break free from inequality, it’s joyous throughout.
With terrific costume changes, up-and-close performances in the bleachers and an almost dorky sense of humour at times, you’ll fall in love with the show and its sasspot creator.
Harris’ microscopic detail zooming all the way out to current anthropological relevance shows a mastery of scale and storytelling, wry sarcasm noting the battle ain’t over yet between bang-on covers that make you pity any karaoke bar she’d float through.
Harris noted this is still in its workshop phase, but even a major costume fail on opening night was a feature, not a fail.
I don’t want to spoil anything else except that you still might be singing the word “Thunderdome” out loud for days after this perfect act of love.
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