Originality is a given for any Nellie McKay show and I Want to Live! is no exception. Using the story and snippets of dialogue from the 1958 movie, I Want to Live!, featuring an Oscar-winning performance by Susan Hayward, Nellie mixes original songs, standards and contemporary material to create an evening of cabaret noir. Nellie plays shady lady Barbara Graham, who ultimately was executed at San Quentin Prison. Nellie’s band, outfitted in period-looking clothes, pops in and out of the action. Bright, cheerful lyrics serve as counterpoint to unfortunate circumstances. “April Showers,” with Nellie on ukulele, is paired with news of Graham’s conviction. Irving Berlin’s “Isn’t This a Lovely Day(to Be Caught in the Rain)” is sung by Nellie, accompanying herself on the piano, apparently oblivious to the action center stage: her drummer shooting up heroin.

Nellie keeps the film noir mood consistent throughout the show and her song choices cleverly punctuate or contrast with elements of the story. The atmosphere in the room is more “edge of your seat” than “sit back and relax.” Nellie succeeds in her concept of transporting film noir to a club environment. Even putting the story aside, it is a pleasure hearing her first-rate vocals on a variety of material.

As an encore, she comes out as herself singing unrelated material, such as her own song, “Me and My Dog,” as well as joking with the audience and pitching the vegan lifestyle. Pity the poor patron who ordered chicken that night.

Les Traub
Cabaret Scenes
July 9, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org