Interview: Lianne Marie Dobbs Takes THE WINDMILLS OF MY MIND... FOR DUSTY SPRINGFIELD to 54 Below

54 Below, Broadway’s premiere supper club, is proud to present Lianne Marie Dobbs in The Windmills of My Mind... for Dusty Springfield for one night only on Wednesday November 6th.

“The Windmills of My Mind is a must-see musical window into the eclectic songs and quirky mind of Dusty Springfield, ‘the blue-eyed soul singer' of the 1960s and beyond. BroadwayWorld named Dobbs as one of the Best Vocalists of the Decade and listed her solo Why CAN’T a Woman…? at 54 Below as a Top Cabaret Highlight of the Year in its 2022 cabaret wrap-up.

Hits like “A House is Not a Home,” “The Look of Love” and “Son of a Preacher Man” are made completely her own thanks to skilled and soaring arrangements by renowned pianist and music director Ron Abel. The show also features band members Sean Harkness, Tom Hubbard, & Rex Benincasa.

Audiences of The Windmills of My Mind will laugh more than anticipated at her comical digressions, leaving well-armed with handy ‘brain hacks’ to empower their own creativity.

Read a conversation with Dobbs about the show.

What are you looking forward to about performing your Dusty Springfield show again, this time at 54 Below?

I’m really looking forward to feeling LESS like an imposter! Many performers - including legends and multi-award-winning stars - worry that they are not good enough to put together a new show, or sing a new style, or fill a room. Despite the critical voices in my head, I’ve performed this show at Green Room 42 and Catalina Jazz Club in LA to full audiences and an enthusiastic response. Which means… I RECEIVED AFFIRMATION! Huzzah! So yes, that is really helpful as I prep for my third presentation of this special show.

Also, my background is in the theatre, and in a typical theatre schedule you have 48 hours of rehearsal a week in a sparse rehearsal room, a whole week of ten-hour days in the theatre perfecting lights and sound, then a dress rehearsal with a small audience, and hopefully a few preview performances when the audience is warned that things MIGHT go wrong. And THEN you reach opening night and an eight-show a week run for (at least) a few weeks! Cabaret is insane in comparison. You workshop the songs and script with your music director [and] director, when you can, and MAYBE have one run-thru with the band, a two-hour sound check on the stage, and that same night you add lights, the audience, and enter the stage wearing some fabulous new outfit that you hopefully had time to iron and get hemmed. So, yes, I am ECSTATIC!

As for the special venue that is 54 Below, I love the lights and sound and the high caliber of performers that are my fellow headliners! It’s Broadway’s best supper club! A cabaret evening to me is a set of music and stories with an arc - with a clear journey - not just great tunes. So, the lighting by KJ Hardy and his team is an integral part of the theatricality and mood of the evening. And the drinks there are better than any other music venue - which makes me happy for my audience! 

Did you gain any insights from previous performances of your show?

Oh, did I ever! I’ve had the honor of having exceptional performers like Michele Lee, Bill Hutton, Jason Grace and Paul Kreppel see my show AND want to extend their thoughts and advice. You better believe that I took them up on those offers! Theatre is a collaborative art form - but so is “solo” cabaret. (In my opinion there’s nothing solo about the art form, honestly!) The biggest change in the structure is the introduction of “brain tricks” that Dusty and I used to help focus our attention and ease anxiety. I recently found a new song to help me! I have “hamsters” in my brain that run on wheels too fast and often fall off in their frenzy. That’s my phrase - but I think it paints a good cartoon of my adrenaline! But I’ve found a calmer way to let the audience into “the windmills” of my mind, and Dusty’s. 

Who should come see this?

My last show at 54 Below, in 2022, was a set of Broadway leading men songs and sassy standards called Why CAN’T a Woman…?, which was honestly a bit of a niche set of tunes.  This set list includes songs by Carole King, Barry Manilow, Bacharach & David, Peter Allen – radio hits that most anyone will recognize, but with a new twist or groove. And the theme is something that we are finally talking about more and more - the non-linear way that so many of us process information - aka neurodiversity.

Anyone who loves the music of the 60s & 70s, admires female music-makers, or wants to celebrate the way that icons have successfully navigated their ‘neuro-spicy’ challenges should come and join the party! 

Aside from preparing for this show, what have you been filling your time with lately?

I was in a wonderful production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at Ogunquit Playhouse this summer. And singing that lush score and watching the incredible storytelling skills of Julia Murney, Mike McGowan & Kathleen Turner every night in Maine was such a gift of a job! I adore everyone at that theater, too!

I was also entrusted with the responsibility of being the leading lady in Twist of Fate at York Theater’s New2NY Festival this fall. Ron Abel and Lissa Levin wrote a wonderful musical about a woman who was arrested for fortune telling in Los Angeles County and the social questions it poses are incredibly timely. I was honored to be the vessel for their story. 

Oh, I also love seeing and feeling live music. This fall has been thrilling as an audience member! Favorite vocalists I saw this month include Maude Maggart, Christina Bianco, Linda Purl, Ava Nicole Frances, and Marilyn Maye.

What’s coming up next for you?

Planning a wedding!!! Finally. I’ve been engaged for 22 months. I need to stop procrastinating and just pick a date. I thrive on last minute preparation, but I hear that wedding planning doesn’t really work that way…?

Anything else you’d like to add?

My evening at 54 Below is November 6th, the day after the presidential election. Whatever the outcome, I think it’s likely that there will be noise and anger in the air and on our screens.

I’m a dedicated volunteer with Sing For Your Seniors, a group who brings music to senior centers, assisted living facilities and especially to people with cognitive decline and I witness again and again how music heals in miraculous ways.

I implore you all to VOTE! Then turn off your screen on November 6th, calm the chatter in your brain the best way we can - in a room filled with music! To quote my closing song: “There will be a lady on stage. But she’s singin’. And she means it.”

Music heals. Music is empathy. Music is love. 

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Lianne and her band play 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on Wednesday, November 6th, 2024.  Cover charges are $40 (includes $5 in fees) - $51 (includes $6 in fees). Premiums are $84 (includes $9 in fees). There is a $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.org. Tickets on the day of performance after 4 pm are only available by calling (646) 476-3551. Showtime is 9:30pm, doors open at 9pm. Follow @54below on Instagram for upcoming engagements and performance clips.

Header photo credit: Taka Harkness

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