Dillie Keane: Hello, Dillie!
Dillie Keane
Hello Dillie!
Fascinating Aida’s Dillie Keane Returns to New York
with her Acclaimed Solo Show
By Fiona Coffey for Cabaret Scenes
May 4, 2016
Those who saw Fascinating Aida make a splash at the Brits Off Broadway Festival in 2004 and 2009 will not have forgotten them in a hurry. The trio wowed audiences with its distinctive brand of British comedy, singing, and satirical cabaret. Scooping three Drama Desk nominations in the process, they were heralded by The New York Times for their “blend of subtlety and showmanship” and the “strong opinions and sharp wits that can make top-notch entertainment.”
Seven years on, founding member Dillie Keane returns to this year’s Brits Off Broadway Festival with her first, widely-acclaimed solo show Hello Dillie! It is the culmination of a hugely successful U.K. tour in 2016, following the launch of the show in 2015 at London’s The Pheasantry and a run at the Edinburgh Festival later that year.
The qualities highlighted by The New York Times are still very much in evidence in Hello Dillie!, and Fascinating Aida fans with long memories will find some well-loved treasures. But Keane is returning to New York with a very different offering. The blistering satirical material that forms the bedrock of Fascinating Aida’s repertoire has been cast aside in favor of a much more personal and poignant set. In her own words, Keane has allowed herself “to be more serious, more tender and more human.”
Explaining this choice, she says: “I never feel I’m likely to write my autobiography. But I wanted to put these songs together because there’s a life there. It’s a lifetime of writing songs and I have a collection that I’m very proud of.” Some of those are new, including “Pam,” a ferociously funny rebuke to the “other woman.” Others, such as “Shattered Illusions” — also sung by Patti LuPone and Bette Midler — are from Keane’s earliest songwriting days. Together they embrace the vagaries and complexities of human existence, in which hilarity and heartbreak are deeply entwined. Individually, these beautifully crafted numbers are masterpieces of truthful, compelling storytelling. The act’s narrative structure showcases them to great effect, alongside Keane’s considerable talents as a raconteur.
The enormously positive response to her solo show in the U.K. has been a spur to Keane, during a difficult year in which Adele Anderson, Fascinating Aida co-founder and Keane’s long-time writing partner, has been forced to suspend touring for health reasons. But while Keane admits to being terribly upset about her friend’s illness, she acknowledges the value of using this time productively. Creating Hello Dillie! has given Keane the opportunity to work with a range of pianists, something that had seemed almost impossible for her to contemplate after working almost exclusively with the late Russell Churney, who died in 2007. “I’ve finally got myself into a state of saying, ‘I’m going to do my own show and I’m going to do it with whomever I can.” For New York audiences, this will be London’s most sought-after cabaret musical director Michael Roulston (read his interview), with whom Keane clearly enjoys an excellent on-stage rapport, adding piquancy. It remains to be seen whether they will repeat their show-stopping alternative encore: a piano duet learned for fun on the road and shared for the first time to an ecstatic crowd at The Crazy Coqs. “People keep saying we should. But I think New Yorkers may be slightly less indulgent than London audiences.”
As we close our conversation, Dillie Keane declares herself to be “overwhelmed with excitement” with the prospect of returning to the “charismatically named” Theater C at 59E59 Theaters and reconnecting with her New York friends and fans. Apparently “Aidatinis” are still featured on the theater bar menu. It’s the perfect way to toast her long-awaited return.
Editor’s Note:
Tickets are on sale now for Hello Dillie!, which runs from June 7- July 3, 2016 at 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, New York.
Category: Cabaret Features, London, London Cabaret Features, New York City, New York City Cabaret Features, Regional
