I finally understand what the kids mean when they say, all the feels! Today brought two more stunning reviews, including...wait for it...5 STARS from Clive Davis of the London Times!!! I. CAN. NOT. BREATHE. I seriously have to stop weeping soon...IM SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!! 😄 Hee!!! Heres a link to the first paragraph: thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/stage/theatre/article4003508.ece And heres the text: THE TIMES THEATRE NATALIE DOUGLAS at CRAZY COQS, W1 by CLIVE DAVIS ★★★★★ The title of her show – Four Women – is a reference to Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln and Billie Holiday. But it could just as easily apply to Natalie Douglas’s extraordinary range. When the mood takes her, the American vocalist swings as stylishly as any jazz diva; with her Rubenesque figure and plunging cleavage she makes a mesmerising blues mama as well. She is just as compelling in confessional Broadway mode, and that raucous giggle is the mark of an effervescent comedienne. Whenever she does a girlish double-take and screams “Awesome”, you might as well be listening to Kathy Griffin. A true force of nature, she squeezes a phenomenal amount of material into the evening. Yet by the end, you simply want her to carry on into the small hours. The artists she is celebrating were strong and often abrasive characters, and all of them had to contend with racism, yet Douglas’s narrative strikes a deft balance between politics and showbiz. Pairing Strange Fruit with Mississippi Goddam was a brave ploy in such a chic venue. Evoking the glory days of that left-wing Manhattan nightspot, Café Society, Douglas carried it off. Mr Bojangles and God Bless The Child were among the other highlights. It helped that pianist Mark Hartman had such sophisticated and unsentimental arrangements at his disposal. Where Douglas was bubbly and capricious, Hartman remained cool and angular. If the programme flirted with schmaltz on Believe In Yourself — taken from The Wiz — the remainder never faltered. Marriage Is For Old Folks allowed us a rare snapshot of Simone in carefree mood, while Lincoln’s song, Throw It Away, brought the show to a pensive climax before Douglas and Hartman unleashed a sleek encore of The Best Is Yet To Come. They will be playing an extra late-night show on Valentine’s Day. Do not miss them.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:21:17 +0000
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