Mary Bogue: Confessions from the Heartbreak Hotel
Mary Bogue
Confessions from the Heartbreak Hotel
Metropolitan Room, NYC, June 10, 2015
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
Photo: Angie Clement-Cromwell
Mary Bogue opened her show at the Metropolitan Room by asking, “Are you ready to have fun?” The fun does begin as soon as this present-day incarnation of Mae West takes the stage. Dressed in a tight sequined dress, Bogue commands your attention. The show is set in the imaginary Heartbreak Hotel; interspersed between the songs are confessions of the doorman, desk clerk, housekeeper, bartender and a guest at the hotel. The thoughtful collection of songs all work so that by end of the show, I felt that I had spent an evening in the Hotel.
Bogue’s opening number, an up-tempo, bluesy “Sneaking Around on You,” set the stage for the rest of the show.” She shifted gears and did a nice swinging “Travelin’ Light.” A hauntingly lovely “Mood Indigo” and beautifully sung “Under a Blanket of Blue” had a raucous “Heartbreak Hotel” sandwiched between them. Bogue sang the original “Big Mama” Thornton version of “Hound Dog,” rather than Elvis Presley’s sanitized one. The audience joined in by howling at appropriate times. Guest Craig Pomranz followed the reading of the bartender’s confession with “Scotch and Soda,” followed by “You Go to My Head.” Bogue told the moving story of her marriage to her now-deceased husband, before closing with a swinging “Blue Champagne.” The encore said it all: “One Night of Sin.” Indeed.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews
