Review: SOPHIE TUCKER: Last of the Red Hot Mamas

I have been looking forward to tonight ever since I got a small preview of Tam DeBolt as Sophie Tucker during the opening weekend of the Lyric Theatre. And rightly so.

SOPHIE TUCKER: Last of the Red Hot Mamas is exactly what I was raised to believe theatre should be- a place to completely escape and be entertained. A place to laugh and think, a place to forget all of your troubles and completely become engrossed in a different world.

Opening the show is Wesley Ballew as Teddy Shapiro, Sophie Tucker's accompanist for most of her career. Ballew strides on stage, takes his place at the grand piano and immediately shows not only his skill at the keyboard, but his charisma and personality. He continues to amaze throughout the evening, but alas- once Tam DeBolt hits the stage there is only one person you see.

Tam DeBolt was not there tonight as far as I was concerned. I only saw and heard Sophie Tucker. And I could not take my eyes off of her. From her perfectly timed delivery of one liners, one right after the other, to her songs sung in a style that immediately made me think of my old recordings from the twenties and thirties, Ms. DeBolt truly became Sophie Tucker.

Bawdy and hilarious, I laughed constantly during the first act. Jokes about her three husbands and her current boyfriend were interspersed with irreverent songs. But it is in the second half that we see her softer side come out. When she sings of her "Yiddishe Momme (mama)" followed by Gershwin's "The Man I Love" you see her heart laid out.

Although appearing to be overly confident and risqué, we see Sophie's regrets at how she raised her only child and how she felt about her mother. Eventually disappointed by how the gossips and critics talked about her, you can tell that Sophie felt things deeply. If it makes her feel any better, this critic loves her.

One of the most entertaining and real performances I have ever seen, SOPHIE TUCKER is definitely for adults who can take a joke and aren't easily offended. Even if you are easily offended, get over it and head to Terrific New Theatre to see this show.

On a side note, this is the last production of the 30th season of Terrific New Theatre and its founder and artistic director Carl Stewart is retiring. A true force in the Birmingham theatre scene for much longer than those 30 years, Stewart has been an accomplished actor, director and friend to the community for all of my life. I'm sure he doesn't remember it, but he gave this actress/critic a chance 40 years ago that reignited my passion for the theatre and I am sad to see this era end.

Call Terrific New Theatre at 205-328-0868 or go to www.terrificnewtheatre.com to get in on this memorable presentation and to say farewell to this theatre icon. The show runs through May 28.

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