Feature: The Days Of Cabaret Gratitude - Day Twenty-Two - The Grace

The Days Of Cabaret Gratitude

Day Twenty-Two: The Grace - Jean Louisa Kelly

Once Upon A Time…

There was a young girl with raven hair, cheek of rose, skin alabaster as the snow, and eyes as blue as the Mediterranean sea.  She dreamed of a career on the stages of Broadway, and at an impressionable age, she found her dream a reality.   A teenager with talent to spare, she debuted on The Great White Way in a musical fairy tale that would be the stuff of legend.  And although she could not know it, then, in no time at all, she would be a movie star.  

Jean Louisa Kelly spent a lot of years in Hollywood, working in film and television.  One of the world’s true natural beauties, she was just right for the camera, be it still or moving.  One of the industry’s well-rounded talents, she was perfect for dramatic films the like of Mr. Holland’s Opus, or televisioin sitcoms like Yes, Dear (she was the titular “dear” in all 122 episodes), and she was the right call for musicals like the feature film version of the iconic great American musical The Fantasticks.  Jean Louisa Kelly may have been a teenager when she headed Into The Woods, but that teenager grew into a working Hollywood actress, right before our very eyes.

So imagine the buzz when it was announced that Jean Louisa Kelly was going to make her New York City solo show debut in cabaret and concert… She had just acted in the biggest cinematic release of the year, Top Gun: Maverick, and, now, La Kelly would be on stage at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in beautiful Hell's Kitchen, New York City.  A movie star in a cabret room.  Well.  You couldn’t keep the people away.  And when Jean Louisa Kelly stepped up onto the stage, looking every inch the star, be it movie, TV or Broadway, the audience was ready to picked up and placed in the palm of her hand, which is exactly what happened.  With storytelling skills worthy of one of the revered acting programs of the theater (some might say Actor’s Studio, others might offer Berghof), vocal prowess to remind that she had started on Broadway, star quality that cannot be bought or cultivated, and an essential element of complete and utter honesty, Jean Louisa Kelly left the stage an hour later having presented a PERFECT DEBUT SHOW IN 2023.  There was a right and proper script, there was musical accompaniment supreme, and there, at the center of it all, was Jean Louisa Kelly in a red dress, singing her heart out and acting her head off.  The evening was such a success that Jean had to schedule an encore, which sold out as well, confirming that which everyone at opening night knew, and many had, for years, already suspected:  Jean Louisa Kelly was born to stand in the solo spotlight.  She radiates and she resonates, and every story she tells comes from a place of personal experience, even when it is a song written by another writer’s hand.  JLK has the uncanny, the admirable, the enviable ability to meld into one the stories from her life and the tales from the pens of other people.  She is a cabaret star in the making, complete from her opening notes and through to her final curtsy.  She just needs to book more shows, be they in Manhattan, San Francisco, Chicago or London.

We’ll wait.  She’s worth it.

Read a Broadway World Cabaret review of Jean Louisa Kelly HERE

Jean, when asked what is next, replied:

I just sang the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden for the St John’s game, but I didn’t know it would be televised — oh well!

Honestly, I have been focused on my family — it's my daughter’s senior year of high school.  I wish I had something juicy for you regarding my career, but my biggest current role is stage-mother —  Josy is playing Alyssa Green in The Prom at her high school.  Very exciting!

Very happy the strike is over.

Jean’s pronouns are she/her/hers.

Jean can be found online at the following links:

Website:  HERE 

Instagram:  HERE 

Facebook:  HERE   

YouTube:  HERE

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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