Pet Project is Marianne Murphy Orland’s salute to the iconic pop star Petula Clark. That Murphy Orland resembles Clark both physically and vocally adds to the fun. Starting the show by sharing the Clark/Murphy Orland common background of beginning as church singers makes that connection even stronger. The quicksand in shows about pop singers is often the sameness of the music. Two factors help Pet Project address this issue in positive ways. Early in the show, Murphy Orland sings the iconic “Downtown” in German and it is interesting, fun and well executed. (Clark recorded several of her hits in foreign languages.) The stronger factor is that Clark, in addition to singing popular tunes, performed in musical theater and sang standards from the Great American Songbook. This enables Murphy Orland to offer us not only an expanded vocal range but, more importantly, her newly emerging excellent interpretive chops. “Something Good” from the film version of The Sound of Music is especially lovely.  She offers both the wit and tenderness of the song.  It would be good for her to explore meatier material as she travels her own artistic road.  The story of how Julie Andrews bested Clark for certain roles is intriguing, and the show could use even more moments of humor and tension in that vein.  While Pet Project is a work in progress, it can boast some excellent moments and the promise of more to come as the show develops.

Carla Gordon
Cabaret Scenes
August 12, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org