Interview: Analisa Bell's PASS ME THE POPCORN at Don't Tell Mama Honors Movies Old & New

Australian-born cabaret performer Analisa Bell is returning to the Don’t Tell Mama stage after a four-year hiatus from solo performance, with Pass Me the Popcorn: Songs from the Movies. She last performed at the midtown cabaret hotspot in March 2020, and we all know what happened after that… Bell’s new show, featuring an eclectic mix of movie musical classics, movie theme songs and songs from movie soundtracks, will be performed on Thursday, June 27 at 7 pm and Sunday, June 30 at 4 pm.

Bell grew up in the “bio box,” also known as the projection room, of a cinema in suburban Perth, Western Australia, where her father was the projectionist. She and her younger sister spent weekends munching on popcorn and watching countless movies through the small glass windows at the rear of the cinema. In an homage to her aging father, Bell will sing her heart out to an array of movie theme songs, songs from movie soundtracks, and beloved movie musicals. Bell will sing her heart out to classics like classics like "Moon River" and contemporary hits like "I've Had the Time of My Life." Her Musical Director is Kevin Winebold, and Creative Consultant is Faith Prince.

We spoke about her upcoming show, what it was like growing up with a behind-the-scenes look at movie theaters, and the experience of returning to the stage after losing her voice.

What do you love about movie musicals and those old movie theme songs?
My father instilled in me a love of movie musicals. When I was growing up, he was a movie projectionist at a cinema in Western Australia and he would take us every weekend to the cinema to watch a whole array of films.

It was more of an arthouse cinema, so it played the classics. It played movie musicals, it played modern films as well, like new releases. It was a cinema that had a variety, but he definitely instilled a love of movie musicals by either taking us to the cinema, or he [had] his own 16-millimeter or 35-millimeter projector, so he would also play them at home. So it was a genre I really loved. And the premise behind this show is to really celebrate my memories of going to the cinema with my dad.

He hasn't left us, he's still with us, but he has been diagnosed with dementia. And in December, I went back to Australia to help my family move him into a nursing home. And so, I think I wanted to do this show to sort of celebrate the memory I have of my childhood, that were very much about the movies, going to the movies, you know, seeing him carry the ginormous spools of film, threading them through the projector.

It was something that was really special, I think, to see the behind-the-scenes of the movie cinema.

What was the process of putting the show together like?
It's been really exciting. It's nice to be getting back into performing again. I haven't done a full show since March 2020, so it's been great. I've been working with Faith Prince. she's my mentor. I met her years ago at the, cabaret conference at Yale that they used to do, and she's been helping me create the arc of the show. I came to her with 32 songs, and so she's helped me cull and create a good setlist.

It's very eclectic. There's movie classics [like] “Moon River.” I'm doing one of dad's favorite songs, “If I Loved You,” from Carousel.

But then there's also some songs from modern movies. There's theme songs. There's a whole array. So there's not just movie musicals but also songs from movie soundtracks, movie theme songs. It's been really good to put it together.

I actually lost my voice completely back in 2022 for a few months from a virus which wasn't Covid, but some other random virus, and it's just nice to sing again. My voice has changed, though, after that experience. I used to be a soprano and now I'm an alto. So that's taken some getting used to, but, it's just nice to sing again. So putting the show together has been a mix of feelings.

Is there anything that helped you get through the anxiety of living through the period of losing your voice?
I think the cabaret community has been a great form of support. I got to speak to other singers who had a similar experience when they lost their voice also. And it was kind of like, having that shared thought of, “Oh my gosh, am I going to sing again?” So that's been really helpful.

I love that the community is really supportive. [That] just sort of helped me hang on [laughs] and to keep working on trying to recover from that. But it was certainly very scary.

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Tickets to Pass Me the Popcorn on June 27th and June 30th are available on Don't Tell Mama's website.

(Disclosure: Analisa Bell is a reviewer for BWW Cabaret.)

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