Laurette Hankins-O’Connell: Broadway Goes to the Movies
Laurette Hankins-O’Connell
Broadway Goes to the Movies
The Cabaret at Germano’s, Baltimore, MD, June 13, 2015
Reviewed by Michael Miyazaki for Cabaret Scenes
In her show, Broadway Goes to the Movies, Laurette Hankins-O’Connell presented her version of a “backstage tour” of songs from some of the most beloved stage musicals-turned-movie musicals. Material included a peppy “Consider Yourself” from Oliver!; a pretty version of The Music Man’s “Till There Was You”; and a heartfelt performance of “Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods.
Hankins-O’Connell has an offhanded charm and forged a solid connection with the audience. She is an effective comedienne, and did a stellar job in wringing out laughs from “My Mother’s Wedding Day” (Brigadoon) and “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” (Annie Get Your Gun). Her patter was well-crafted, wittily providing interesting insights in the transition from stage to cinema of the works she was saluting. However, the most effective moment of the evening was when she explored the feeling of becoming an orphan late in life when losing aged parents, followed by “Where Is Love?” from Oliver!
Hankins-O’Connell has a tendency toward lyrical inaccuracy and was hampered by a pianist who was not up to the task at hand. The audience would have welcomed it if she would have explored additional verses of some of her more popular material. And, while her selections of movies and songs were very audience-friendly, it would have been interesting to have something from a less-known example of the genre such as Half a Sixpence, One Touch of Venus or The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (especially after she told an anecdote about auditioning for the show).
Category: Cabaret Reviews, DC/Maryland/Virginia, DC/Maryland/Virginia Cabaret Reviews, Regional
