By Michael Barbieri****I’m sure it’s been said before, but Sally Darling is just that—Darling! Onstage, she projects a natural, friendly demeanor and you can’t help but like her. Beyond her natural charm, though, she’s a wonderful interpreter of song! In her recent show, Sally Darling Sings…Beatrice Lillie, Darling treated her audience to musical gems from Lillie’s long and varied career.
Beatrice Lillie was a Canadian-born, British stage and film actress, known for her work in both the U.K. and the U.S. She was a contemporary of Gertrude Lawrence and she performed, as did Lawrence, in revues by André Charlot, often singing songs written for her by Noel Coward. She won a TONY Award in 1953, and to many, she’s best known as Mrs. Meers in the film Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Throughout Darling’s show, we got many songs by Noel Coward, certainly, but the set was also peppered with offerings from other composers and anecdotes from Lillie’s life—all of which were new to me. The show never felt like a lecture, however. There was a conversational feel to it, as though Darling had us in her living room, telling us wonderful stories. And while the stories were amusing and informative, the real meat of the show lay in the fabulous songs.
Darling opened with two by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. During “Nanette,” she peered around the stage in a mock-mysterious fashion and sang about a disregarded woman for whom “the world rushes by.” In “Paree,” she extolled the wonders of the City of Light, clearly having fun with the faux-French phrasing.
Darling struck just the right languid tone with Coward’s “World Weary,” and showed off her own comedic talents with Murray Grand’s “I Always Say Hello To a Flower,” explaining that some of the wordplay— such as saying “Hiya, Cynth!” came from Lillie herself.
There were moments where Darling actually seemed to channel the actress. For instance, in the patter that led up to a song called “Paint,” we learned how Lillie attempted to paint a bowl of fruit, but then ate the fruit instead and exclaimed “they were delicious!” When Darling spoke that line, I practically heard Lillie’s voice!
Speaking of delicious, one of the most surprising aspects of this show was Darling’s skill at delivering complex and wordy songs. In “O, Leo,” she sang about a hunky mountain guide in a quasi-yodeling fashion, adding “…we climb the highest Alp and my heart palp-itates.” Coward’s “Three White Feathers,” about a woman from humble beginnings, was sung in a simple, straightforward tone. And of course, we heard “I’ve Been to a Marvelous Party,” and “A Bar on the Piccola Marina,” both delivered with sly gusto. And in a nice change of pace, she didn’t go for the obvious joke—complete with hand gesture—at the end of “Piccola Marina,” where Mrs. Wentworth Brewster sings of the local Italians, “…most of them have a great deal more to offer than Papa!” She just let the lyric speak for itself.
There was, however, one amusing moment of fallibility. Darling was singing one of Noel Coward’s best known,and most verbose songs, “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” when she went up on a lyric. She paused and asked Musical Director, Matthew Martin Ward for assistance. Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought a lyric sheet, so he was lost as well. But soon, Darling remembered the words and finished the song. They both handled the moment so well, and with such good humor, that the audience loved it all the more!
The stories and historical tidbits were enlightening, occasionally sad, and in one case, a story about Lillie’s run-in with a snotty society m
atron at the Elizabeth Arden Salon was very, very funny.
Darling’s look—a breezy, loose blue-green lamé jacket, simple black slacks and silver hair in a short-short pixie cut, brought to mind the casual elegance of Bea Lillie’s era. That, coupled with her slightly brassy soprano, completed the illusion . It wasn’t an imitation of Lillie, but rather a gentle suggestion of the woman herself.
I came away from this show with a bit more knowledge of Beatrice Lillie, but I also felt I had made a new friend in Sally Darling. I had come to the club accompanied by my partner, who isn’t involved with cabaret at all, yet we both felt it had been a lovely way to spend an hour on a spring evening.
Sally Darling Sings…Beatrice Lillie returns to Don’t Tell Mama on June 25th, at 7 PM. For tickets please visit www.donttellmamanyc.com
Don’t Tell Mama is located at 343 W 46th St, New York, NY, 212-757-0788
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