As the winner of LA’s Next Great Stage Star 2009 competition, Theresa Anne Swain was expected to serve up a winning performance in her cabaret debut, and she did deliver. Taking the role of a stalker obsessed with various boyfriends or would-be boyfriends, Theresa assembled a selection of contemporary songs that explored the range of feelings felt by this confessor entering a 12-step program. Opening with “I Will Follow Him,” a song with more songwriters credited to it than you can count on the fingers of one hand, Theresa set up her premise and her character by fully using the lyrics of the song to express innocence, then anxiety and finally the obsession that led her into the 12-step program. She kept a tongue-in-cheek attitude with much of the material but shifted mood dramatically to convey the heartbreak in Jason Robert Brown’s “Still Hurting.” Through her ability to capture every lyrical nuance contained in the songs, she was able to command attention throughout her performance. Brad Pullen joined her effectively on one song and music director Ron Snyder provided strong support throughout the evening.
Les Traub
Cabaret Scenes
May 16, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org
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