Eadie Scott's Wished on the Moon: A Tribute to Dorothy Parker is a fully realized package of worldliness and wit, the kind that brings to mind clever bon mots over a couple of Martinis. Beneath this repartee, however, is the melancholia of the woman who personified the clever Algonquin Round Table clan while suffering her own search for love and happiness. While her quips were deliciously wicked, Parker battled alcohol, depression, and self-destruction. Her quote, "What fresh hell is this?" might well apply to her own life as easily as to a prom she once attended at Yale.

Eadie Scott first performed Wished on the Moon in 1993 for Dorothy Parker's centennial birthday. With the astute direction of Collette Black and sensitive piano accompaniment by music director Ricky Ritzel, she presented a series of songs, poetry and monologue, painting a portrait of the complex Parker. Scott performed only two Parker songs, the haunting "I Wished on the Moon," (with Ralph Rainger), which opened the show, and "How Am I to Know?" (with Jack King). The other selections, however, reflected the character. Parker would have approved of Francesca Blumenthal's "Lies of Handsome Men," a song that looks in a woman's heart and understands the vulnerability. Two of Dorothy Fields/Jerome Kerns' most poignant songs, "Remind Me" paired with "April Fooled Me," with their surprising turns at the finish, were showcases of sophistication mingled with pain.

On the other hand, Scott's "I'm Gonna Live 'Till I Die" (Hoffman, Kent, Curtis) lacked the Wow! factor. The risqué "Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love," (Cole Porter) called for more earthiness from Scott, whose sauciness is decorous and her delivery soft and light. While the phrasing reflected sensitivity to the song, it was more compelling in romance mode.

The show's flow was smooth and Eadie Scott displayed professionalism and poise. When there was a persistent sound problem, she handled it with good humor, not missing a beat. Her point of view remained steady and she showed a good sense of her brilliant, often outrageous and always intelligent subject, but you might categorize her Dorothy Parker portrait as muted impressionism rather than expressionistic intensity.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
August 17, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org