The Crazy Coqs, Piccadilly Circus, London W1 – 23 April 2025
Reviewed by Phil Brown
3***
One of the immense pleasures of a reviewing gig is the opportunity to enjoy fresh experiences and expand one’s horizons. Music theatre veteran, Lorna Dallas (originally from Carrier Mills, Illinois, but an honorary Brit) certainly delivers on both counts.
She has been a star of hit musicals both sides of the pond since the 1970s and has a truly extensive and distinguished career as a singer and actress (also recipient of the 2020 New York Bistro Award for ‘Consummate Cabaret Artist’), but this deeply personal and intimate performance at the delightful Crazy Coqs was my first taste of one of her one-woman shows live in cabaret.
Her latest show – the well crafted Snapshots – developed in conjunction with director Barry Kleinbort and first performed in 2024, is an exercise in unabashed nostalgia. It essentially browses Lorna’s career ‘photo album’, to cherry pick significant musical moments and memories in an extraordinarily varied and hard working career. In doing so, she revives long forgotten classics alongside the odd obscure number from the past as well as premiering material from a new musical, Travels in Vermeer. These snapshots are linked with some fascinating anecdotes of a self confessed ‘demented diva’ ever ready to perform and who apparently never said no to such opportunities. Overall, it has the feeling of a career summation, possibly a fond farewell, but judging by her evident work ethic, I suspect not.
The marriage of two superb instruments – Lorna’s expressive soprano voice, undiminished by age, and music director Simon Beck’s immaculate piano creates a cabaret evening of the highest class over the course of around 21 songs, and 75 minutes. (Some songs are combined into medley form).
Whilst long time musical theatre obsessives could be familiar with the majority of the material, It has to be said that Lorna’s nostalgia may only chime with a (declining) audience of a certain age, being mostly decades old (one song being over a century), even though a couple had appeared in UK pop charts back in the 60s. As she said after singing the one new song (Stillness) – “OK Simon, back to the dead guys…”
Lorna opens with the exquisitely wistful Always Something There to Remind Me (Bacharach/David) a massive hit for Sandy Shaw in the 60s) and a well chosen introduction to the Snapshots theme. Her wide ranging set list covers the crême de la crême of British and American songsmiths from Bacharach to Sondheim. Particular highlights for me are the reflective Snapshots/Walking Among My Yesterdays medley, the yearning Song on the Sand (Gene Barry), the funky Blues in the Night (Arlen/Mercer), and the sorrowful The Last Time I Saw Paris (Hammerstein/Kern). However, despite the touching and amusing lead-in, it’s difficult not to picture Tommy Steele whenever I hear Flash, Bang Wallop (Heneker).
Other highlights are the between songs introductions, explanations and amusing personal reminiscences, such as her extraordinary time in Kismet at the Shaftesbury Theatre playing to packed houses until 10.30pm, then dashing across town to the Savoy for the 11pm cabaret, incentivised by Wimbledon centre court tickets. And at the same time, she was also flying to Cologne every morning to record Stranger in Paradise in German before returning for the two evening shows. Wow! I also loved the clever adaptation of Cole Porter’s Let’s Fly Away – “Let’s fly away and find a land that’s warm and tropic, where Donald Trump is not the topic…”
Overall, after a long and celebrated life in showbiz, Lorna Dallas clearly still loves being on stage, entertaining people, and retains an enthusiastic support base. There is so much to admire – her energy, warmth, artistry and professionalism are all inspirational. She makes a wonderful role model for aspiring performers across the arts. The show itself is high quality, heartfelt entertainment, but perhaps the material is now a touch too old for modern audiences.