By Marcia Blondin***My curiosity about this show was piqued with the mere mention of Elizabeth Taylor, whose house here in town, Casa Kimberly, where she lived with Richard Burton before and after their marriage, is j
ust a couple of blocks up the hill from me. I knew it was going to be a notch above normal when I was handed a 20-page program going into the Casa Karma Red Room. A classy remembrance that I will keep.
Ann Talman is tiny, even in boots, and she shines with gold sequins, leaving somber tones for her extremely able musical director, Alex Rybeck. I was almost unaware of the piano as Ann’s beguiling soft tones drifted from speaking into song. Alex was acutely aware of exactly where she was throughout the evening, and he used real sheet music—another classic touch.
She grew up being told how much she looked like Elizabeth Taylor in the movie National Velvet; some of the photographs of Liz and Ann together are astonishingly similar. Whether it was Life imitating Art or the other way around, Ann eventually landed the part playing Liz’s daughter on
Broadway in Lillian Helman’s drama The Little Foxes. And so began an enduring friendship that lasted until Taylor’s death 14 years ago. Ann was invited, for example, to celebrate Elizabeth’s 60th birthday party in 1992 when Liz rented all of Disneyland for the night. Other guests included Michael Jackson and, of course, Richard Burton. Ann also met Princess Diana, the Reagans and many other interesting people.
What made Ann Talman’s performance so intimate and endearing was her simple delivery. After all, the story she was telling was her actual life. It didn’t need tragedy added or drama attached or piled on top to make it enjoyable. And that she can put the best parts of her life to music and then spread it around the continent like sweetened cream is a gift for us all to enjoy. The Shadow of Her Smile is an over-the-top lovely celebration of Ann Talman’s life, including her friendships with a couple of people you may have heard of.
