Micaela Leon: Trance Atlantic

Perhaps it is because she, too, crossed an ocean to make her career that Micaela Leon connects so emotionally to Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker and Jane Birkin. In Trance Atlantic, her latest cabaret at the Metropolitan Room, the luminous German chanteuse salutes the stars who sacrificed their homelands for their art, creating a joyous, funny and emotional evening of stories and song.

Dietrich moved from Germany to America for her career, and become a Hollywood icon. American Baker went the other way, becoming the toast of Paris when she emigrated in the 1930's. Birkin, an Englishwoman, also moved to Paris, where she defined French pop in the 1960's and '70's. All three women were revolutionaries both artistically and sexually, pushing boundaries and blazing trails in tumultuous times. Dietrich made androgyny stylish, Baker celebrated wild sensuality, and Birkin exemplified the detached sexual freedom of the swinging '60's.

Trance Atlantic, then, is less a tribute to the women as singers and more a salute to the cultural icons. As in Tigers, Muses and Jasmine, her cabaret from earlier in the year, Leon puts each song in context of its time and significance, sometimes recreating the choreography that accompanied the original performances. Just as Dietrich stripped from a gorilla costume to the song "Hot Voodoo" in Blonde Venus, Leon strips from a white tux to a low-cut blue dress when she sings the song. Later, she winks and asks the audience to "suspend the notion that I'm tall, blonde, and German"  before launching into a fierce medley of uptempo songs that Josephine Baker premiered-- "I Love Dancing," "That Certain Feeling," and "Ram Pam Pam." During the final part of the medley, she mimics Baker's signature style of dancing, stamping her feet fiercely to the jazz beat. And as for Birkin's choreography... well let's simply agree that if the 10:00 start time isn't enough, the inclusion of "Je t'aime... Moi Non Plus" makes this show somewhat unsuitable for the under-fifteen set. (That age is no accident-- I sat next to a very mature fifteen-year-old during the show, and felt the need to cover her eyes during this song. She, of course, was completely non-plussed. Kids these days...)

The greatest hits of each artist are all here, sometimes translated or otherwise adapted for Leon's particular talents, and sometimes performed exactly as written.As opposed to Tigers, Muses and Jasmine, which focused on women in the Weimar Republic, Trance Atlantic's songs represent every decade from the 20's to the 80's, appealing to plenty of tastes. Baker's "J'ai Deux Amours," an anthem to emigrants, takes on a lovely new meaning when this immigrant ends it with the new line "J'ai deux amours: mon pays et New York!" Dietrich's most famous number, "Falling In Love Again" is especially poignant in Leon's hands, and Birkin's "Lolita Go Home" is fierce and powerful. Lina Koutrakos' direction emphasizes all of the right qualities in each song, and Uli Geissendoerfer, Patrick Farrell, and Philipp Gutbrod provide strong vocal and instrumental support on piano, accordion and drums, respectively.

It's no accident that Micaela Leon's last cabaret earned her notice from both the Nightlife Awards and the MAC Awards. She proved with Tigers, Muses and Jasmine that she could own the classics with the best of them. With Trance Atlantic, she proves that she can perform contemporary songs just as well. The show's run ends tonight, but if there is any justice in cabaret, it will extend soon.

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