On Tuesday, October 4th at 8:00 PM, Kathleen France brought her one-woman-tour de force extravaganza, “La Bella Vita” to the Iridium. With an eight-piece band to warm up the crowd, then appearing on stage in a skin tight, sparkling evening dress, sporting a smile as gorgeous and infectiously heart warming as her voice, France entranced the audience from the first bar of Bob Merrill’s Mambo Italiano to her to her twenty-fourth selection, Buona Sera by Louis Prima.
The program,comprised of popular songs made famous by Italian/Italian American singers and/ or with Italian themes, was expertly crafted by Emmy Award nominee and MAC Award winner France and her director Tanya Moberly. I overheard a nearby table of people say that the sole purpose of the show was to create an audition film for employment on cruise ships. If that is indeed the case, I can report definitively that France’s mission is more than accomplished, and here’s why:
France brilliantly weaves personal anecdotes into a tight, universally appealing show, making it authentic to her and personal to anyone who loves this genre of music. And face it, everybody loves this genre of music. The evening was a recipe for success, as the audience celebrated the hit songs, laughed at France’s stories and marveled at her vocal versatility. Highlights of the show included Bobby Darin’s arrangement of Dream Lover paired with Connie Francis’ arrangement of You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me. France’s rich alto would soar into an off-the-staff belt with ease. Further, as she shifted into The Prayer (David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa and Tony Renis), her legit soprano stayed steady and even as she delivered the lyric in flawless Italian. One part pin-up girl, one part Lucille Ball goofy chick and all parts powerhouse vocalist, Kathleen France makes entertaining look easy.
So, how does an Irish Girl from Fort Collins, Colorado end up presenting an ambitious, Italian- themed program of hit songs at a posh Manhattan Club, backed up by an eight piece band? She does it by hiring Ian Herman as her Director of Music, and the stellar instrumentalists Sean Harkness (Guitar), Tom Hubbard (Bass), Dave Silliman (Drums), Jon Menges (Trumpet), Mark Miller (Trombone), Jeff Schiller (Alto Sax, Flute 1) and Jeff Nichols (tenor Sax, Flute2 Clarinet). Then she chooses MAC Award winner Tanya Moberly to direct and guide her through the complex and elegant musical choices. Finally, she puts every bit of her divine intelligence , talent and, yes, adorable persona into the act.
If “La Bella Vita” travels to the open water, well, cruise ship audiences all over the globe will be entertained and moved by Kathleen France’s singing prowess and generous spirit. For the rest of us on land, we hope she brings it back again and again. ~ Brooke Drayton (Oct 2016)
Saturday, October 31, 2009; Posted: 10:10 AM – by Jenna Esposito
Happy Halloween! It’s been another frightfully good week filled of entertainment, starting with the delightful Kathleen France, who I saw Sunday evening at the Metropolitan Room. Blessed with a big, bold, warm voice, I’d heard Kathleen perform at a number of open mics, and was thrilled to be able to catch her debut solo cabaret show, Book of Love. Backed by a fantastic band (musical director Tracy Stark on piano, Jamie Fox on guitar, Skip Ward on bass and David Silliman on drums) and two terrific backup singers (Wendy Anne Russell and Joshua Judge), Ms. France wove her way through a great selection of music, ranging from musical theater to country, to blues, to rock. Her powerful voice sounds great on everything, but my favorite song of the night was Dolly Parton’s “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right.” She and the band just nailed the country tune, and if I closed my eyes for a minute, I could forget that I was in a little cabaret room and imagine I was at the concert of a country star! Ms. France has an engaging personality and a fantastic sense of humor, which just radiate from the stage, and as she explored the ups and downs of the “book of love,” she had the audience in the palm of her hand. Kudos to Kathleen on a great cabaret debut, and also to director Lina Koutrakos.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2009
Raissa Recommends – week of 10/26/09
I’m not sure if I ended a great week, or began it, with the debut of Kathleen France’s show, THE BOOK OF LOVE, last night. All I know, is that she is a gem, and reminded me, once again, of why we perform – because it is a gift to the audience and she gave and gave and entertained the heck out of us. Moving, funny, well-paced and directed by Lina Koutrakos and MD’d by Tracy Stark – this is a collaboration made in heaven. And is there ANYTHING Kathleen can’t sing? I think not! Let’s make her run this show over and over again.
The tall warbler, who performs under a Louise Brooks bob and with the immeasurable aid of director Lina Koutrakos, has a helluva good time waxing and waning about her love history and prospects. Plus which she’s ably backed by pianist-musical director Tracy Stark of the rockin’ arrangements, guitarist Jamie Fox (the night I was there), bassist Skip Ward, drummer Dave Silliman, and singers Wendy Anne Russell and Joshua Judge. She consistently amuses herself—and therefore the audience—with various comedic tropes. Particularly funny is the chart on eligible men she hauls out to accompany the advice she gives on Sippy Wallace’s “Women Be Wise” with its repeated dictum, “Don’t advertise your man.” Another thing about her: Although none of the selections was written for her, she has the knack of making many of them sound like extremely well-tailored special material. Lastly, France has the savvy to sing Rusty Magee’s “New York Romance,” one of the most realistic songs ever written about the Big Apple and its sometimes bruised skin. She gets every nuance the late tunesmith built into it.
Written By David Finkle
October 25, 2009
BistroAwards.com
In the boxing ring of cabaret, Kathleen France is a knockout with a great one-two punch (punchy comedy and powerhouse singing). Pow! To extend the familiar ring of the metaphor, letʼs simply say she knocked my socks off. The surprise is: itʼs her debut show. But sheʼs already a pro. In her corner, she has savvy director Lina Koutrakos to “show her the ropes” and terrific harmonizing back-up singers plus Tracy Stark to add spark and matchless support as Musical Director. Bubbly Kathleen is an exclamation point of delightful, infectious joy, exhibiting loopy self-deprecating humor about her lack of luck swimming upstream in the dating pool. Thereʼs a method to her madness, as revealed by her deft examination of all facets of Rusty Mageeʼs “New York Romance”— pathos, reality check, affectionate humor. She can wail and rock out when “Crying” with a big, big voice and bigger heart. “Ainʼt No Sunshine” is a highlight, but the opposite of this report: sheʼs a sunny, funny, cute-as-a-bunny personality who lights up the room. This is someone who knows how to play to—and connect with—an audience, with her twinkling eyes looking right at theirs. She has great timing and provides a great time.
Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
October 18, 2009
http://www.cabaretscenes.org
Cabaret Review by Marcina Zaccaria
Cabaret performers Kathleen France and Dawn Derow perform in “Revolution” at The Duplex, a show that looks at war and peace since 1776.
There is something special about being in the West Village for cabaret, and in some ways, The Duplex is the perfect place to discuss war, peace, and protest. Smartly directed by Lennie Watts, a 10 time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets), 5 time Backstage Bistro, and 3 time Nightlife Award winner, “Revolution” looks at tough topics from the Civil War until the 1960s. The impulse to pick up a gun and go to war depends on so many things. The cabaret show does not so much consider race or class, but rather, what causes war, and how people react to it.
With the “Gun Song” by Stephen Sondheim toward the beginning of the show, the performers set the tone for a riveting evening. With a flag of the stars and stripes in the background on the piano on a stage that also includes drums and violin, the performers give a thought-provoking performance. Other songs in the set list included “Flagmaker,” “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” and “I Need to Wake Up.” Sometimes loud and bold, sometimes heartfelt and meaningful, the solos and duets had extraordinary polish. Chat between the songs was quick- witted and funny.
Kathleen France is a bit more gutsy. Her debut cabaret show entitled “The Book Of Love” was nominated for a 2010 MAC Award (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs). France is also an Emmy nominated narrator for “Blueprint NYC,” a television show about NYC landmarks. France wears peace beads and fringe and celebrates hippy, skippy days toward the end of the show with “Easy to Be Hard” from Hair.
Though “Revolution” does not have the gloss that would be found on an already recorded record, the show was live and vibrant. The brilliant musical direction by Andrew David Sotomayor (The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Shop of Horrors) includes an extraordinarily moving sixties sequence. The ”Protest Medley” includes “War”/”Fortunate Son”/”Shout”/”What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love & Understanding”/”Think.” The rousing chorus reminds us that war is different for women than it is for men, and from war there’s a lot to learn about peace and understanding. The actresses shared that both of them had family members in the air force. At the end of the show, they took up a collection for The Wounded Warrior Project.
“Revolution” has one remaining performance tonight, Tuesday, November 11 at 6:30PM at The Duplex, 61 Christopher Street @ 7th Ave South. Call (212) 255-5438 or visit http://www.theduplex.com for additional information.
MAC Award nominees and besties, KATHLEEN FRANCE and DAWN DEROW, team up for a special evening. They will take their audience on a musical journey through a time of war entitled REVOLUTION. The duo sings songs of patriotic American women willing to fight for truth, and answer the call to action from the year 1776 to present day. Ms. France and Ms. Derow will examine messages sent by war, conflict peace and protest. This concept Cabaret show, conceived by Ms. France, is an homage to what kabarett used to be like in the German tradition. With the use of political satire and gallows humor, REVOLUTION will tackle important civil rights issues affecting American people. This fresh, yet classic, take will make the show a popular entertainment on the New York Cabaret scene. The show, vast in scope and deep in content is better classified as an event! This will give these two cosmopolitan New Yorker’s a platform large enough to share their personal stories and forthright observations in an evening of protest, revolution, compassion, healing and laughs.
The United States of America has only known 21 calendar years of peace time since its inception.
A portion of each ticket sale will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.
REVOLUTION
Starring Dawn Derow and Kathleen France
Directed by Lennie Watts
Music directed by Andrew Sotomayor
The Duplex (61 Christopher Street @ 7th Ave South)
Monday October 20, Tuesday October 28, Sunday November 9, Tuesday November 11
All shows 6:30 PM
$20 cover ($15 for MAC) 2 drink min Call (212) 255-5438 or theduplex.com
Do you know what’s worth fighting for?
You know when you have a great group of friends or a great friend, that is your equal, and yet your opposite? This is Kathleen and Dawn, besties for several years and wanting to work together but didn’t have a project. The opposites attract statement is true for their collaboration in this show, and is the foundation of their friendship and chemistry on and off stage. “We are the Thelma and Louise of cabaret!” said Ms. Derow. Ms France had taken a break from the cabaret scene to advance her Musical Theatre career. “I didn’t want to return to Cabaret until there was something big,” said Ms. France. Ms. Derow has been a staple on the Cabaret scene, including her latest offering, serving New York audiences sexy sass in her acclaimed coloratura show LEGIT. So, in a music arrangement class Ms. France was hit by inspiration when reinterpreting a love song into a song of war and protest. She called Dawn and said, “Honey, we’ve got a show!” Dawn said, “Girlfriend, I’m with you!” REVOLUTION was born.
About Kathleen France:
Originally from Colorado, the fiery red head’s beauty has been compared to that of Debra Messing, with the wit of Leah Remini, but authentically Kathleen France. She moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a musical theatre performer on Broadway. Her journey since then has taken her in many different directions. A member of the Actor’s Equity Association (AEA) she has traveled the globe as a singer, actress, and dancer in various theatrical tours and productions. Her personal performance career favorites include the national tour of Victor/Victoria, and performing the role of Fraulein Kost in Cabaret for Julie Andrews. She has numerous regional theatre credits her favorites include the roles of Mazeppa in Gypsy and Rizzo in Grease. She has also performed for years all over the world. But it was not until working for Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, that she was introduced to the world of voiceovers. She began doing voiceover work for Tokyo Disneyland, and for Sony Records in Japan, and has also recorded a number of foreign language dialect tapes and phonetic videos for Japanese students. Kathleen enjoyed voiceover work so much, that she continued her studies in New York. She has worked for MTV Animation on their Celebrity Death Match Series, has recorded a number of commercials, promos, radio spots, public service announcements and infomercials, and has recently started pursuing audio books on tape. For the past few years, Kathleen has been a narrator for NYC TV, cable channel 25′s popular television show BLUEPRINT NYC, an historical documentary series highlighting various New York City landmarks. For her performance narration work on this show, Kathleen was nominated for NY EMMY AWARDS in both 2006 & 2007, given by the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NY NATAS), as a symbol of achievement in programming excellence. She is thrilled to have received this honor. Currently, she is the NEW VOICE promoting LINCOLN CENTER. Most recently, Kathleen has burst on to the New York cabaret scene. Her debut cabaret show entitled The Book Of Love was nominated for a 2010 MAC Award (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs). This show featured many different genres of music including pop, rock, country, jazz standards and musical theatre. She has also now become a recording artist, completing her first CD along with Miranda Music: The Book Of Love: Live at the Metropolitan Room. Kathleen loves being a cabaret artist and can’t wait to produce and perform in her next show.
What the critics have said:
Although, a seasoned performer in theater with a successful voice-over career, her recent turns at Metropolitan Room at Gotham made her mark through confidence and good humor in the cabaret arena. Her winning charisma enhanced a demanding set of songs with some great arrangements by musical director Tracy Stark…she quickly established herself as a full-voiced Broadway style belter with a neat penchant for rock and roll. With Stark deftly leading the quartet along with five back up singers, France’s ambitious set moved along with some interesting songs.
– John Hoglund – TheaterScene.net
In the boxing ring of cabaret, Kathleen France is a knockout with a one-two punch (punchy comedy and powerhouse singing). Pow! To extend the familiar ring of the metaphor, let’s simply say she knocked my socks off. The surprise is: it’s her debut show. But she’s already a pro.
– Rob Lester – Cabaret Scenes Magazine
It’s been another frightfully good week filled of entertainment, starting with the delightful Kathleen France, whi I saw Sunday evening at the Metropolitan Room. Blessed with a big, bold, warm voice, I’d heard Kathleen perform at a number of open mics, and was thrilled to be able to catch her debut solo cabaret show, Book of love. Backed by a fantastic band (musical director Tracy Stark on piano, Jamie Fox on guitar, Skip Ward on bass and David Silliman on drums) and two terrific backup singers (wendy Anne Russell and Joshua Judge) Ms. France wove her way through a great selection of music, ranging from musical theater to country, to blues, to rock. Her powerful voice sounds great on everything, but my favorite song of the night was Dolly Parton’s “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right.” She and the band just nailed the country tune, and if I closed my eyes for a minute, I could forget that I was in a little cabaret room and imagine I was at the concert of a country star! Ms. France has an engaging personality and a fantastic sense of humor, which just radiate from the stage, and as she explored the ups and downs of the “book of love,” she had the audience in the palm of her hand. Kudos to Kathleen in a great cabaret debut, and also to director Lina Koutrakos.
– Jenna Esposito for BroadwayWorld.com
Broadway Global spotlights the dynamic duo of France and Derow in Revolution Cabaret, as they mash historical facts with personal experiences and tie the sentiments together with familiar songs, bringing the audience on a ride through the times as the experiences of our nation at war are examined like never before. The duo sings songs of patriotic American women willing to fight for truth, and answer the call to action from the year 1776 to present day. “Join the Revolution inspiring our nation to raise funding through songs, with Ms. France and Ms. Derow, as they honor The Wounded Warrior Project, service men and all American Veterans. Book now at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre for October 28, November 9, and November 11, 2014.” Broadway Global.
Ms. France and Ms. Derow examine messages sent by war, conflict peace and protest. This Revolution concept cabaret show, conceived by Ms. France pays homage to what “kabarett” used to be, in the revolutionary German tradition. With the use of political satire and gallows humor, Revolution tackles important civil rights issues affecting American people past and present. This fresh, yet classic, take will make the show a popular entertainment on the New York Broadway/Cabaret Scene.
With the hectic schedules and busy lives that come with living in New York City, it is easy to block out those who are fighting overseas and easy to lose sight of those who have returned home without parts of their bodies, their minds, and their souls. MAC Nominated Cabaret Artists Kathleen France and Dawn Derow bring consciousness back to town as they team up for their new Duo Show: Revolution. This cabaret with a conscience focuses on singing songs that celebrate our greatest triumphs and times of deepest sorrow during times of war. A historical reflection of music throughout the ages, this event pays tribute to our soldiers and their families. In addition, a minimum of 25% of ticket sales will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project; a military/veterans charity organization empowering injured veterans and their families.
According to the Wounded Warriors Project, 80% of all Warriors have a friend who was seriously wounded or killed in action. Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) takes a holistic approach when serving warriors and their families to nurture the mind and body, and encourage economic empowerment and engagement. Through a high-touch and interactive approach, WWP hopes to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history. Does this remind you of your own family’s legacy?
How has our country changed due to war? How have Americans changed amid the conflict? How will you change as you listen and absorb REVOLUTION? Dawn Derow: “I want our show to wake up people a bit, to encourage folks to take responsibility personally rather than waiting for others to do something.” Kathleen France: I want our show to give the audience some kind of hope. We try to end it on a positive note, to be thought-provoking and encouraging peace.” The Wounded Warrior Project’s slogan is, “The greatest casualty is being forgotten.” How will YOU remember? Join Ms. France and Ms. Derow October 28, 2014. November 9, 2014 and November 11, 2014. All shows run 6:30-8:00pm at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre located at 61 Christopher St. at 7th Ave. Advance reservations are suggested and may be made via http://www.theduplex.com $20 Cover ($15 MAC members) plus 2 Drink Minimum. To make a direct donation of your time or finances to the Wounded Warrior Project, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
