KT McCammond offers up Deconstructing La Diva with sexy aplomb. Her divas run the gaumut from opera and 1930s film star Grace Moore to Kate Bush, to Elton John (C’mon, Elton can out-diva anyone!). McCammond salutes Moore at her operatic and cinematic best, then salutes Marilyn Monroe in a medley of signature tunes including “(I’m Just) A Little Girl from Little Rock” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Here is where McCammond’s shimmery costume becomes a virtual partner in the show. With a twist here and a tuck there, the elegant evening suit that befitted the operatic aria transforms into a 1950s skirted trouser ensemble that surely reflects Monroe. Certainly dress-up is a meaningful element of diva-nity and McCammond goes whole hog, replete with Dolly Parton wig galore in “Backwoods Barbie,” imparting what this song has to say:  superficial glam, even exaggerated glam, is only the external part of what makes a diva so. The shtick and the dress up are great fun. However, it is in the simple, slow delivery of “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” that McCammond reaches her most relaxed vocal delivery and most brilliant interpretive gifts. This song is both statement and question with the realization that desire has grown into love. The lyrics are a mature and true argument for self-protection when, indeed, “a heart can be broken.“

KT is at Davenport's every Friday in April.

Carla Gordon
Cabaret Scenes
April 1, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org