Lane Bradbury Delivers French Songs with a Southern Accent

By Bart Greenberg***The Georgia-born Lane Bradbury returned to the cabaret stage with a program devoted to Gallic melodies, Mon Histoire en Chansons Francaises (My Story in French Songs), at Pangea on February 13, 2020. Why did the sassy diminutive charmer, the original Dainty June in Gypsy, who still retains more than a trace of her natural drawl, choose to do an evening of songs almost entirely sung in French? Well, she never quite got around to explaining that one.

To add to the confusion, her first number, “Les Champs-Elysees,” was originally written in English as “Waterloo Bridge” (Michael Anthony Deighan/Michael Wilshaw, French lyrics by Pierre Delaone), and later the evening included “Bravo Tu as Gagne (The Winner Takes It All),” which comes from the Swedish rock group ABBA. There was even a song written by Bradbury herself, in conjunction with Joseph Akins, “En Me Promenant Dans Mes Reves (Sleepwalkin’ Dreams),” performed in both French and English, without any explanation as to which lyric came first.

None of this confusion extended into the diva’s delivery of her selections. Bradbury’s voice is still strong and flexible, with a performer’s passion for entertaining infusing every moment. There’s a bit of gravel in lower registers that is actually appealing, making her sound like a good-natured Marlene Dietrich. She is an actress whose every inflection is conveyed through her voice, her facial expressions and her beautiful use of her hands. Given material of dramatic depth such as “Mon Histoire (My Story)” from Les Misérables, she found every heart-breaking nuance in the piece.

Also very interesting was “Comme D’Habitude” (Claude Francois/Jacques Revaux), which became well-known in the United States as Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” However, Bradbury revealed that the original lyrics told a very different story of a tragic love affair, and while the audience may have not understood the individual words, once again she expressed the essence of the tale.

Not that all of the numbers were so downbeat. She had great fun inhabiting the hopeful prostitute in Edith Piaf’s classic “Milord,” even when the recitative section did suggest that this lady of the night had spent time in the south of France. Bradbury also had great fun with the over-the-top camp classic of the 1950s “Jezebel,” which her notes credited Frankie Lane as making famous, but for some in the audience was inextricably linked to Ricky Ricardo belting out as Lucy once again invaded his nightclub act.

Throughout the evening, Joe Goodrich provided fine support as music director, accompanist and confidant. And at the climax of the show, he had a chance to display his excellent voice as he offered up Charles Aznavour’s “I Didn’t See the Time Go By,” delivered in English as Bradbury counterpointed with Piaf’s “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.” The combination possessed a dramatic (and musical) multi-dimension that was immensely satisfying.

And so, the question remained, why a program in French for such an American talent? And the final answer was that with a performer that drew the audience into her heart and delivered her chosen material with such committed passion, perhaps the question proved irrelevant. Bradbury is a performer who defies certain boundaries. Perhaps her next show will be performed in Mandarin.