Unique, clever, funny, inspired, creative!  That’s what Donna Lynne Champlin has artistically invented in her on-going theater piece Finishing The Hat.”  What does it mean?  It's stories with songs from her personal and show business life.

Although the thought of putting a lot of work and time into creating a one-woman show wasn’t particularly appealing, after sitting and talking with friend Emily Skinner, it was evident that an audience would want to hear the various stories surrounding this multi-talented gal’s life. After all, DL (Donna Lynne) is not only a gloriously trained Broadway soprano, but also a dancer and musician (she plays piano, flute, accordion).

DL recently starred in the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, as well as James Joyce’s The Dead, By Jeeves and Hollywood Arms.

When Finishing The Hat first began at Ars Nova it was called Songs and Stories. About 15 stories were put into a hat and DL only got through half of them. So when the producer came backstage after the show and said you have to come back to FinishThe Hat, that cinched the theme and the name of the show.

Together with pianist Tom Kitt, DL takes us through her uproarious tale of stalking Brian d’Arcy James paired with the obsession song – “What Is it About Him?” The audience gets to choose the stories by picking them out of the hat. Next up: “Stars In Your Eyes,” a story about DL, as a child, playing the planet Uranus (because she was pudgy). She is a zany comic filled with boundless energy until she morphs into ethereal softness singing “Smile.” The next picker from the hat gives us “The One Night Stand,” a story about relationships, consulting a psychic and her New Year’s Eve affair where she supplied “a little hat” to her one-night lover (alas he turned out to be a virgin), topped off by the song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” And on and on it goes for 90 minutes of laughter, pathos and clever pairing of stories and song. A new story is always added, this one “The Love Letter,” about critics and the reviews they’ve penned. Her response is an original song she wrote called “Suck My Balls – Mr. and Mrs. Critic too!” Well, I won’t go into that one other than the fact that she won’t let her mother come and see this! This is followed by some hilarious stories as part of “The Worst Audition I’ll Never Forget; The Best Audition I’ll Never Remember,” paired with the songs “I Can’t Say No” and “I’m Flying.” 

Donna Lynne Champlin belongs on “Saturday Night Live!

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
August 11, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org