BWW Reviews: RAIN COLLAZO Sings Like Cabaret Royalty in Her Pulsating PRINCE Tribute Show at Don't Tell Mama

It was the 1980's. The time of ray bans, head bands, and the start of cable television, where music videos on MTV would skyrocket to stardom future pop icons Madonna, Michael Jackson, and, of course, The Artist Formerly Known as . . . Prince. Celebrated early on for his sexually charged lyrics and for experimentally combining various genres of music (funk, R&B, new wave to pop and pop rock), Prince was and still is a one-man musical revolution. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling artists of all time. For a cabaret performer to take on Prince's challenging discography is not only ambitious, it's extremely BOLD. It would require a singer to have amazing vocal flexibility and power, smoldering sensuality, and strong emotional connections to the lyrics. Rain Collazo displayed all those qualities--and more--in her performance this past Saturday night at Don't Tell Mama.

From her opening number, a mash up of "Controversy" with "Baby I'm A Star," Collazo's powerful vocals brought to mind the likes of a young Chaka Khan. During her second number, a combination of "Let's Go Crazy/Delirious," Collazo conjured up images of the sensual Apollonia (who played Prince's girl in the 1984 film version of Purple Rain), riding on the back of that motorcycle both so free and so young. Yet in reality, all Collazo does is simply stand there and sing, pouring out her heart in "I Want To Be Your Lover." She tells us that as an innocent 8-year-old she was mesmerized watching Prince on TV, totally enraptured with his "presence." Years later she would figure out this was really all about sex, proceeding to sing the monster hit "Kiss" with flirtatious eyes and a bit of a wink and smile. Continuing to display her youthful '80s exuberance in a mash up of "U Got That Look/Sugar Walls," she flavors the lyric with the vocal hint of Cyndi Lauper.

Which brings us to "Purple Rain." Often a singer is only as good as his or her musical arrangements. Collazo's Musical Director/Pianist Steven Ray Watkins stripped the song down to its bare essentials and the result was breathtaking, as was the closing number, "When Doves Cry." In fact, all the arrangements in this set are stellar, revealing the beauty, the poetry, and genius of the composer formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson. I felt like I was hearing his music for the first time, no doubt due to Mr. Watkins' understanding of the music, the time period, and most importantly, how to best serve the vocalist as evidenced by Collozo's tortured rendition of "I Would Die 4 You." Rain's wonderful backup singers, Rob Sutton and Lorinda Lisitza on vocals/harmonica all added more flavor to the musical palate of Prince. A mash up of "Pop Life" with "Sign O' The Times" featured the stellar band of Donna Kelly on drums, Dan Fabricatore on bass, and Ted Stafford on guitar.

This was a well-structured tribute show allowing the audience to explore various themes of spirituality, greed, money, religion, and anger, all skillfully introduced in patter and song. Thanks to the excellent direction of Lennie Watts (who Collazo credits in her bio with teaching her how to find her "true voice"), the hour flew by and before the audience could catch its collective breath, Collazo was onto her encore, a pulsating version of "1999" (from Prince's first Top 10 album released in 1982).

"The Artist Formerly Known as Prince," as sung by The Artist Presently Known as Rain Collazo, offers one more performance of this entertaining and energizing show on Saturday, November 15, 5:30 pm at Don't Tell Mama.

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