Sharon McNight revisits her homage to three Hollywood legends in this sometimes educational, sometimes in-character, always entertaining show. Her Bette Davis impersonation is right up there with the best (her pianist, Joan Edgar, played for Charles Pierce, famous for his Bette impersonation, for years) infused with Sharon’s sass, attitude and comic timing. Her vocal mimicry is spot on, particularly on the delicious “They’re Either Too Young or Too Old” and the famous Davis wicked one-liners.

Betty Grable is less prone to impersonation, but McNight lets the song selection define the treatment. Grable did some novelty songs, and that kind of material is stock in trade in general for a Sharon show; they're delightful here. “In Acapulco,” “O’Brien Has Gone Hawaiian” and “Down on Ami Ami Oni Oni Isle” shine in McNight’s capable hands.

Her third persona, Betty Hutton, is closest to McNight’s stage personality. Starting out sluggish on Frank Loesser’s “I Wake Up in the Morning Feeling Fine,” pianist Edgar stops the number and hands McNight a box of pills. After gobbling a handful, she is transformed into the gushy, peppy Hutton we knew—an electric jitterbug with energy to spare. McNight has the spunk to pull this off with great success. “Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry” and “Rumble, Rumble, Rumble” swing hard, while the evening’s loveliest ballad, “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So,” shows the big-belting McNight has a touching soft side as well. Reviving these three great dames is always a good thing.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
June 20, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org