Marissa Mulder: Marilyn in Fragments
Marissa Mulder
Marilyn in Fragments
Laurie Beechman Theatre, New York, July 26, 2016
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
Midway through Marissa Mulder’s remarkable Marilyn in Fragments, I thought I was actually listening to Marilyn Monroe. So well did Mulder capture the essence of who Monroe was, that — despite the fact that Mulder did not attempt to look like the person that she was portraying— she had me believing that it was Monroe on stage. Amazingly, the show is non-specific, names are never mentioned, but what was fascinating to me was that if you did not know the title of the show, you would not know that it was about Marilyn Monroe. But, nonetheless, that knowledge made me believe that I was listening to the real Marilyn.
Mulder appropriately mixes songs not performed by Monroe to advance the story, while the spoken portion consists entirely of Monroe’s own words. Needless to say, it requires great acting skill to become another person for an hour, and Mulder pulled it off wonderfully.
The musical numbers opened with “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” The first line of the verse, “I never feel a thing is real,” almost spoken, was in some way the story of Monroe’s life. The musical numbers were all performed brilliantly, including very seductive renditions of “Chase Me, Charlie” and “I’ve Got a Crush on You.” Mulder walked into the audience and sat on male laps while performing “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” followed by the quote, “Don’t fall in love with a politician; when they fuck you, they fuck you.” After discussing a divorce, Mulder’s performance of “My Coloring Book” was especially poignant. “Don’t Rain on My Parade” followed a description of what it was like being a star. By performing the closing number, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” excruciatingly slowly, Mulder closed by capturing the always conflicted thoughts Monroe had about who she really was.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional
