Allison Guinn: The Legend of Daisy Dean
Allison Guinn
The Legend of Daisy Dean
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, October 16, 2016
Reviewed by Randolph B. Eigenbrode for Cabaret Scenes
Allison Guinn
Opening this non-traditional offering was a video of the heroine, a feeble but feisty woman in her mid-80s with a nasal bluegrass twang. Allison Guinn, the evening’s star and narrator, introduces her simply: “My Granny was special,” and for a show memorializing Daisy Dean, a woman of blunt honesty and hilarious point of view, this might be the biggest understatement of the night.
Eschewing patter for long expository monologues, Guinn expertly wove Dean’s stories of childhood, marriage, music and motherhood to paint a portrait of a complex woman—full of spit and vinegar, an innate survivor sensibility and an unwavering love for family—even in the face of hardship and betrayal. Always balancing maudlin with droll, she relayed Dean’s unique sense of humor throughout: the type of from-the-hip humor that comes from a person of a simple life but immense experience. And mirroring Dean’s taste in music was the choice of mountain gospel (of the Carter Family and Roy Acuff variety) to comment on these stories and expand the Appalachia milieu that Dean blossomed in.
Beginning with “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow” (The Carter Family), an interesting dynamic emerges. The songs seem simple in form, but their lyrics reveal an often blistering honesty and macabre tone, much like Dean herself. Guinn’s lush mezzo-alto rang strong and full throughout and the supporting haunting harmonies only fostered a sublime evening.
“Darling Corrie” (Old Appalachian folk), “fast and messy, just the way Granny liked it,” whipped up a hootenanny hoedown with an autoharp feature by Guinn (multitasking this instrument throughout) and a spoons solo by Glen Heroy that almost defied reality in its speed and articulation. (Fabulous.) In fact, the band—Peter Calo (M.D., guitar, mandolin, banjo), Sam Gelfer (upright bass) and Matt Gelfer (fiddle, mandolin)—were on fire in their authenticity and musicianship, playing in simpatico to Guinn’s firm lead.
And the night’s most effective choice was “Nobody’s Darling” (Traditional) which finally allowed the ebb of the show to recede with Guinn’s deft interpretation that never allowed it to dissolve into sentimentality. A haunting ode of longing, she declares that she’d “rather be somebody’s darling than a poor girl nobody knows.”
And with this harrowing and poignant portrait of a Tennessean gem, it’s doubtful anyone could forget Daisy Dean anytime soon.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional
