By Marcia Blondin***Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing three women, Deborah Darr, Ann Kittredge and Karen Mason, all of whom have had major roles on 
Broadway stages —and here they are performing in a beach town in Mexico.
I saw Deborah Darr, the first of the three, at The Palm. She dons sequins once a year for a fundraiser, fills the room with friends, and tells the story of her career in words and song; her show is directed by the great Lina Koutrakos (who also has visited us here in Vallarta). Deborah spends three months a year in Mexico, teaching dance classes locally, absorbing the energy of Vallarta, and carrying it back to Chicago, where she paints watercolors daily and continues to teach online to faithful followers.
Ann Kittredge was second, reprising her New York City show, Romantic Notions at the Casa Karma Red Room at Act2PV.
Each song was reinterpreted as a loving gift, seemingly to her husband of nearly 40 years, Bob, who was in the audience—a lucky man. Her style, so warm and intimate that even a pin-dropped in the ethereal atmosphere she created would have been a calamity. Ann is enamored with Vallarta, so I hope she will return soon.
The final diva—and I mean that in the classical sense—Karen Mason, filled every chair in the Casa Karma Red Room. She has such a following that Michael Feinstein (yes, that Michael) saw her poster on the street, coming in from the airport, and 
tried to book tickets. Entertainment director David Sabella found space for him and his companion. The audience was studded with other performers, including Brent Barrett, Bernie Blanks and Seth Sikes. Karen Mason is lovely and even more important than that, is her sense of humor. Her hugs were strong and true, and I would love to sit down with her one day for a chat.
All three stars remain beautiful, all able to still wear sequins, gold lame and sparkly shoes with aplomb. Their voices soar with elegance matched with experience that gives each one of them a regal bearing that I would bet they didn’t have at the beginning of their careers. It was an honor to be in their presence.
