Becca C. Kidwell Sings Her Story Through the Lens of Mary Chapin Carpenter, at Don’t Tell Mama

By Michael Barbieri***Singer Becca C. Kidwell took her audience at Don’t Tell Mama on a journey—the journey of her life. While this is nothing new in cabaret, I found it fascinating to experience Kidwell’s life through the lens of a single artist who clearly means so much to her. In her moving, charming and ultimately optimistic show, My Maybe World with Mary Chapin Carpenter, we learned how Carpenter’s music affected her through the bad times as well as the good times. Becca Kidwell is a MAC Award nominee with two other successful cabaret acts to her name: Fangirl and Show of Dares. She also founded and was Artistic Director of Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project. Mary Chapin Carpenter is a five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter who has sold more than 12 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012. And though I wasn’t familiar with most of the material, the connection between Kidwell and Carpenter’s musical oeuvre was evident from the very outset of the evening.

Opening with “Down at the Twist & Shout,” Kidwell traced her love of MCC’s (as she refers to Carpenter throughout the rest of the show) music back to one of the singer’s early television appearances. She continued with the plaintive, reflective “This Shirt,” during which she revealed that Carpenter’s music seemed written for her—almost about her. After she and her family moved from her native New Jersey to Georgia, she was left feeling trapped and in need of a creative outlet, so she auditioned for a high school musical, using “I Feel Lucky” (Don Schlitz, MCC). Her bouncy delivery of the song was absolutely delightful, especially when combined with her re-creation of the funny and awkward choreography she had attempted at the time.

Many of the songs showed off Kidwell’s skills as an actor, in particular “I Was a Bird,” in which she related feeling as though she had no wings to fly; “Maybe World” (Gary Scott Burr, MCC), where she expressed the uncertainty of life after the horrors of 9/11; her beautiful rendition of “Holding Up the Sky,” which was tinged with melancholy; and the sorrowful “Only a Dream,” which spoke of the end of a romantic relationship. Here, her delivery of lyrics like ‘…it must’ve been a hell of a suitcase you packed’ were so heartfelt and relatable, I found myself getting a bit tearful.

Those songs were balanced out nicely with the more upbeat numbers like “Wherever You Are,” during which she scanned the room searching for her potential mate; “Shut Up & Kiss Me,” which commented on her romance and eventual marriage to the man of her dreams; and her sweet, hopeful rendition of “What If We Went To Italy,” where she spoke of her desire to take her husband to a country she loves. Lastly, her lovely delivery of the iconic “Passionate Kisses” (Lucinda Williams) positively bubbled out of her as she danced joyfully around the stage.

I must admit to a few minor quibbles with the show, but they were mostly technical issues. I feel that the gain on Kidwell’s microphone could’ve been a touch higher, as I occasionally lost the ends of some of her phrases. Also, the quieter moments definitely needed softer lighting—some of the ballads were done in full stage light, when a simple special would’ve been more dramatic and effective. Additionally, I thought I detected a touch of nervousness in Kidwell’s vocals at the start of the show, but she got that under control quickly and was in command of the performance from then on. Even one moment, where she went up on a lyric during “Tender When I Want To Be” was handled with confidence; she merely started over and went on with the number. In an odd way, the gaffe sort of worked within the context of the song, so Brava, Becca!

Musical Director Tracy Stark’s gorgeous arrangements and lovely vocal harmonies provided strong support and subtle textures that underscored Kidwell’s song choices beautifully. And while I felt there were a few moments where the show’s narrative needed a bit of polish, Director Kristine Zbornik and Direction Supervisor Gretchen Reinhagen have helped craft a show that allowed Kidwell to flow almost seamlessly from story to story, song to song, and emotion to emotion, bringing us along for the ride.

Becca C. Kidwell clearly has strong emotional ties to the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter, and that connection felt to me like the beating heart of this terrific and very personal show!