Review: Gilly-Forrer & Kane Bend Their Genders For All To See (& Hear) For A GENDER BENT CABARET LIVE at Don't Tell Mama

Can Two Regional Theatre Ladies Sing The Broadway Boys?

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW Reviewer here. Putting the silent T in cabareT to bring you all the T!

So my dear ones, Friday night's A GENDER BENT CABARET LIVE! At Don't Tell Mama, introduced your Rainbow Boy to two young talents from regional theatre that may have all the goods they need to play THE street (oh, you know what street Bobby means...) Tiffany Gilly-Forrer and Sarah Joy Kane decided to go script-free and director free for their duo cabaret venture, which gave their show the loose, freewheeling feel of a living room party where the hostesses suddenly decide they should entertain - that's if the hostesses for the evening were Donna Murphy and Kristin Chenoweth... and booze. Now, these two performers are at the beginning of their artistic lives, both being EMC, which stands for Equity Member Candidate (read they ain't in the union yet but they're workin' on it), with Tiffany having just completed her MFA at LSU this year and Sarah having a resume populated with a few NY credits and the rest from the provinces of NJ, PA, CA and someplace called Montana. The life of actors in the world outside of NYC can be rough but creatively idyllic given that the lion's share of work one can find on the stage is varied and challenging IF one can travel to where the work lives. Something that Sarah has been doing by living in NYC and working OOT. Tiffany has yet to make the leap to the city from... whichever Carolina she says she's from, but one hopes that she will one day soon. However, with Sarah Joy Kane planning to move with her military man to Florida, this premier in the Original Room at DTM seems to also be the duo's swan song as well. Color our rainbow a little sad at that thought.

Having met working on a show in some country called Oreo-gone, these two became fast friends and decided that, post-pandemic, it was high time Tiffany drove the 10 hours to civilization to put on a gosh darn show with her bestie. Grabbing their ADORABLE and gifted pianist Thomas Hodge for one, count them ONE rehearsal, and then diving right into performing that very night might sound a little suicidal, but that kind of raw nerve can indeed make magic happen - and indeed it did. Now, the rough-hewn feel of their program, which had the ladies drinking, announcing songs one after another, and flubbing those makeshift transitions here and there was completely mitigated by the charm and energy of these performers. Kane's cutesy, diminutive, bubbly blonde belter with real legit soprano high notes and Gilly-Forrer's grounded, relaxed, full-head-taller brunette with a strong basement to her pipes, neatly juxtaposed (what? Bobby knows words!) against each other, gave the whole evening a wonderfully warm odd couple feel. One could even imagine a time in the future when these two take the female version of that Neil Simon classic out for a fantastic spin.

Taking on songs written for dudes is not a new act for lady singers. The value of seeing this kind of show comes not only in the performer's abilities to put the songs over, which these two do 98% of the time, but in the choices that are made for the setlist. Here these two have excelled with a program of songs that stayed mostly in the 1980s to the present day with one rousing trip to the '60s where Kane knocked the room out closing the show with GRAND KNOWING YOU from SHE LOVES ME. A really fine example of Gilly Forrer's acting chops came on DEAR EVAN HANSEN'S WAVING THROUGH A WINDOW, which brought out a dramatic depth and range that their "We're putting on a silly show" demeanors belied.

While Gilly-Forrer & Kane seemed pretty loosey-goosey-just-having-fun throughout, they both do take the acting and singing very seriously. Their presentations vocally as well as playing the moments given them by each number are spot-on wonderful. The fact is both ladies have fine, professional singing voices possessing pretty impressive ranges each, with SJK able to reach wonderful stratospheric soprano octaves, and SGF's notes in her upper voice ringing out like a beautiful bell. Where Bobby deducted those 2 little percentage points rests with Gilly-Forrer whose lower range, where she lived throughout most of the show, while impressive, has moments that just go too low for her to reach comfortably for the ear. Does she miss? No... Could she benefit from taking her keys up a whole step or even a step and a half? Yes. This is a minor point though, as Bobby will always forgive a multitude of vocal sins for superb acting, and in this, neither of these singing actresses fail. The duets they chose - IT SUCKS TO BE ME (AVENUE Q), AGONY (INTO THE WOODS) and I GUESS I MISS YOU (SPONGEBOB) demonstrated that their rapport as friends folded beautifully into their work together to mine some real gold.

In the end, it is a little sad that this fun living room party (worth every penny of the cover and two drink minimum) seems to be a one-shot deal, but one can hope that these two will continue their partnership regardless of geography and that they will make their way back to New York where they belong. So, for leaving us with those hopes and for their really fun night out, we give Tiffany Gilly-Forrer & Sarah Joy Kane A GENDER BENT CABARET LIVE! A solid...

4 Out Of 5 Rainbows.

Follow these young ladies on their socials...

Tiffany Has Her Webbysite: HERE

She Drops Her Insta-Pictograms: HERE

Check Out Her YouTubes: HERE

Ande Followe On Ye Olde FaceBooke: HERE

Sarah Spins Her Webby: HERE

Check Out Her Insta-Pitctograms: HERE

See Her YouTube Vids: HERE

Tweet Her Twitters: HERE

Ande Followe On Ye Olde FaceBooke: HERE

The Lovely Thomas Hodge's Socials Are...

A Website (WhereYou Can Hear Original Songs) Is: HERE

He's On The Insta's: HERE

And There's More To Hear & See On His YouTubes: HERE

All Photos by The Adorable, STEPHEN MOSHER

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