Actor/cabaret singer Stephanie Trudeau will perform an updated version of her docu-cabaret musical, Becoming Chavela, at Don’t Tell Mama, on Monday, November 22 and Thursday, December 30, both at 7:00 PM. Written and performed by Trudeau, the piece is more than just a musical cabaret based on the songs of legendary Mexican singer Chavela Vargas. It is also a documentary theater project that traces the famed ranchera singer’s artistic evolution and her relationships with her musical mentor Jose Alfredo Jimenez (the world’s greatest composer of ranchera songs), the painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, the great Cuban courtesan Macorina, and producer Pedro Almodovar, who enabled her comeback at age 72 after a 15 year battle with alcoholism. Trudeau is accompanied by Ben Lapidus on guitar and percussion. Director is Tanya Moberly.
Becoming Chavela won a 2020 Bistro Award for Outstanding Achievement: Tribute Show. It not only dramatizes the singer’s life, but also examines the culture of Latin America’s “golden age” from the 1930s through the 1960s. The narration and enactment of the singer’s life story is in English, but Vargas’ ranchera songs and Latin American pop hits are sung in Spanish with some translated lyrics. The piece is illustrated in multimedia containing historical images of the principal characters, the art world and social milieu of mid-century Mexico City when it was the cultural capital of Latin America.
Stephanie Trudeau has been an actress and singer for over 40 years, performing in NYC cabaret, Off-Broadway and regional theater. She had been developing a program of songs written by women, notably Spanish songs her Puerto Rican mother loved. Trudeau explains she was also intrigued because Chavela’s life story evokes so many of today’s hot topics: gender issues, gay rights, immigration and Mexican culture. Trudeau was also a founding member, actor and producer of New Directions Theatre Company (NYC). Her other cabaret shows have included one on the body of work of June Christy, followed by Stephanie Trudeau Sings the American Songbook.
There is a $20 cover plus two drink minimum (cash only). For reservations, call 212-757-0788, or visit www.donttellmamanyc.com
Don’t Tell Mama is located at 343 West 46th St., New York, NY
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