In a month that brought the passing of extraordinary beauties and movie star legends, actresses Jane Russell and Elizabeth Taylor, how timely that Sigali Hamberger, a ravishing beauty herself, happened to be paying tribute to another of the iconic silver screen sirens, Ava Gardner.

In her show at the Metropolitan Room, A Toast to Ava Gardner, Sigali, as she prefers to be called these days, gave the audience a well-researched recounting of the life of this very complex woman, at once rebellious and independent, yet remarkably homespun, punctuating the narrative with well-chosen songs that further illuminated both her life and career.

Opening with a beautifully sung pairing of Gardner’s favorite song, Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” and contemporary songwriter Susan Werner’s “Movie of My Life,” Sigali’s fluttery soprano voice adeptly handled a challenging song list that included several songs from Gardner’s films: “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” from Show Boat and “That’s Him” from Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash’s One Touch of Venus, as well as songs that highlighted her various marriages: to Mickey Rooney with the  Comden and Green/André Previn “Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks”; to Artie Shaw with Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s“ Cornet Man”; and, of course, to Frank Sinatra with Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” The stages of her self-described, unfulfilling acting career were represented by the Kurt Weil/Ogden Nash “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” Georges Bizet/Henri Meilhac/Ludovic Lalévy’s “Habanera” and Kern and Hammerstein’s “The Folks Who Live on the Hill.”

Gardner’s story is not an easy one to tell, and surely some details and perhaps even a song or two need to go, but Sigali pulled it together with intelligence and an elegant charm which resulted in a well-crafted tribute that left her audience knowing a great deal more about both of these lovely ladies.

Here’s to Ava! Here’s to Sigali!

Sigali returns to the Metroplitan Room April 5 & 6.

Lynn DiMenna
Cabaret Scenes
March 25, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org