Lannie Garrett, a club owner and staple on the Denver entertainment scene, came to Hollywood, saw an opportunity and conquered an audience. Both as herself and as her alter ego, Patsy Decline, Garrett exhibited a powerful voice, an attractive stage presence, a good sense of humor and a deep understanding of how to entertain.

As herself, the red-headed bombshell seemed most comfortable singing the blues — whether it was a strong, declarative “Come Rain or Come Shine” (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) or a comical wrist-slasher — and real crowd-pleaser — called “Oreo Cookie Blues” (Lonnie Mack/Stevie Ray Vaughn). Garrett also offered a sly delivery on the very sly double entendre standard, “If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sittin’ on It” (Alex Hill/Andy Razaf), moving her body as needed to demonstrate it wasn’t just a chair she was offering for sale. She turned “If I Only Had a Brain” (Harold Arlen/E.Y. “Yip” Harburg) into a small tour de force — singing it initially as an up-tempo, with some audience participation, then moving it into more of a ballad tempo before upping the tempo at the finish.

As Patsy Decline — the self-described “queen of country music, not to be confused with anyone with a similar name to mine because she’s dead and I’m here and that’s that” — Garrett was all country-and-western sweetness and self-adoration in a big, curly red wig and a blue and pink and brown and green skirt and matching boots.

Spending most of the segment in the audience — caressing an older man’s hand one moment, sticking a handsome young man’s face into her ample bosom at another — she was a riot of humor and sharp quips  (Sample line:  “I knew I was getting older when the guys I was sleeping with were half my age — and it was legal!”) And she showed off her powerful pipes when she stepped back up on the stage, as Patsy, to sing “Good Enough” — a song by Weird Al Yankovic about a woman who settles for something less than her ideal (“You’re the man I’ve always dreamed of/Well, not really/ But you’re good enough for me.”) — and a full-bore “Stand by Your Man” (Tammy Wynette/Billy Sherrill).

Garrett had superb backing from a trio of musicians: a very effective David Scott Cohen (doubling as Neil Down in the Patsy Decline segment) on piano; Nate Light on bass; and Tom Rowe on percussion.  The show was directed by Clifford Bell.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
August 21, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org