Review: Bill Russell Presents Special DIVAS I LOVE SINGING LYRICS I WROTE at Birdland

One of the great things about cabaret is when an audience gets to attend a special event… let’s put quotes around that:  “Special Event.”  This could be a benefit for a cause or a reunion of some sort, maybe an album release show or a tryout of some kind.  It’s special.  It may not necessarily be a “Special Event” like those BCEFA concert productions or those MCC Miscast galas - but it’s still special.  The flip side to that, though, is that it usually only plays the one time.  Now, that can be drawback… for the people who don’t get to see it.  For the ones that are in the room, though, it becomes a precious commodity, a rare occasion, a singular event that they will get to say, “I was there that night.”

On September 30th at Birdland there was a presentation of a one-off by Bill Russell titled DIVAS I LOVE SINGING LYRICS I WROTE.  The program was to feature the Tony Award nominee discussing the songs, the shows, the scripts, and the divas, except that he was concerned, he explained on the night, that the word ‘diva’ might have negative connotations, that when applied by him to the guest artists who would do the singing, the word was a synonym to the word ‘goddess.'  Surely the sold-out house of Birdland patrons knew, understood, indeed felt the same way.  We all love these divas, these goddesses, and all of the women that we hold most dear as our own personal diva goddesses.  For Mr. Russell, the diva goddesses announced were 2009 Tony Award winner for Best Actres in a Musical, Alice Ripley, 1997 Tony Award winner for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, Lillias White, oft-Broadway leading lady Erin Davie, and current Broadway inhabitant Charity Angél Dawson, and maybe it was Mr. Russell who packed in the people, maybe it was those starry diva goddesses, maybe it was a combination of both, but on the last day of September, the room was, indeed, packed.

A true blue delight in white cotton, Bill Russell grinned the grin of a four-year-old standing in front of an ice cream cake, as he welcomed the audience, but the grin faded as he explained that Lillias White was under the weather.  The grin grew back again when he informed that Christiane Noll was stepping in at the REALLY last minute to assuage the pain of missing Miss White.  It was all good, though, because audiences understand that these things happen, that Lillias never stays away from the cabaret and concert stage for long, and that Christiane is always welcome at any show, party, or special event.  So, with the housekeeping done for the day, the show, the crowd, the divas and Bill were off to the races.  As one by one the divas joined him on the stage, Bill Russell shared memories, factoids, and stories about the musical for which each song was created, about the friendship he shares with each diva in question, about the process of production, and about his life itself.  And from start to finish DIVAS I LOVE SINGING LYRICS I WROTE was a special event, in every sense of the word.  In all honesty, this could be regular programming at Birdland.  Mr. Russell has certainly created enough material to fill many different installments of DIVAS I LOVE…, and the likelihood is strong that Mr. Russell has a whole arsenal of divas to populate such productions, repeatedly.  Even if it were to become a Birdland series, though, September 30th would still be a special event.  The energy in the air was electrifying that night.  The audience at Birdland featured well-known faces of industry personalities and respected artists.  The divas were all in spectacular form, including one divo, Mark Hartman, who played the show for all it was worth, even scoring high marks singing the song “I’d Rather Be A Fairy Than A Troll” from the musical play Fourtune, but, at the end of the day, it was the gentle giant Bill Russell driving the train.

The Ladies took turns at the microphone, with Alice Ripley performing from Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens and Side Show, Erin Davie working with songs from Pageant and Side Show, and Charity Angél Dawson showcasing songs from Side Show and specialty material created for a BCEFA Easter Bonnet Competition.  Christiane Noll’s participation was limited to one song but it was a song that she, herself, originated in the play Kept (the story Bill and Christiane told about the audition, the casting, and the production itself was priceless), and although it has been years since that play happened, Ms. Noll’s rocking performance of “Let’s Stay Out And Play” could have been from a present production.  Mr. Russell ensured that everyone knew that this was a LAST minute replacement and that this was Ms. Noll’s first time singing the number with the band.  It was a genuinely impressive undertaking, but, honestly, not surprising.  These are Broadway proficients operating at the highest vibration - naturally, it was going to go off without a hitch.  The entire evening was one wow moment after another.

Particular highlights in this evening of highlights were bountiful and powerful.  First up was the rare privilege of  getting to see two Broadway Violet Hiltons singing side by side when Alice Ripley and Erin Davie sang “I Will Never Leave You” as the evening finale.  They were not alone, though, as Ms. Dawson joined them in the power ballad, and even though the voices rang out in superior perfection, what this writer found so moving was the way the women looked at each other while singing.  First Ripley and Davie, then Ripley and Dawson, then Dawson and Davie, then all three, singing this epic anthem, looking at each other as sisters, which they are: these are three women and three actresses making it work in one of the toughest industries in the world, and when they gazed into each other’s eyes while singing Russell’s lyrics of commitment, it was thrilling and chilling.

The finale of Side Show was not the only moment to remember, for Alice Ripley performed the Act One Finale of the show, “Who Will Love Me As I Am?” in a stunning solo arrangement that filled this devotee of the play (I saw it four and a half times) with memories of that legendary, remarkable production.  And although Erin Davie sang a cut number from the play titled “Side Show” the real treat was hearing her sing “Banking On Jesus” from Pageant - Bill Russell is more than just a writer of ballads and anthems - he is funny fellow, too, and Ms. Davie (in all her Old Hollywood glamor and elegance) captured his wicked wit to perfection.  Ms. Dawson got to do a little Side Show, as well, and appropriately because she was an actor in the 2014 revival of the play, but the number she performed on the night was “All in the Mind,” a new song for the production written for the character of Harry Houdini.  Dawson did the number proper justice, but it was in the second half of Divas I Love... when she stopped the show singing “Your Show Is Going On” which was written especially for a Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS fundraiser.  It was a truly spectacular moment in the evening, made more emotional by her acknowledgement of the grave loss to the community with the passing of Thomas J. Gates, Adrian Bailey, and Gavin Creel, whose death had been announced only hours earlier.  It was a fine and fitting tribute to all three Broadway treasures.

The unquestionable emotional wallop of the night, though, was watching Bill Russell perform Bud’s monologue from Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, immediately followed by Erin Davie’s heartwrenching performance of “My Brother Lived in San Francisco.”  This is what theater, what cabaret, what storytelling is all about - touching your audience in ways that only you can do, and, with this particular moment and, indeed, his entire show and his divas, that is what Bill Russell did.  The standing ovation at the end of the night was instantaneous and well-deserved.  This is the kind of detailed artistic programming that continues to make Birdland a live music venue of excellence.  While most nights of the week we can find jazz and big band and the famous Cast Party and Lineup variety shows in this respected and revered club, every now and then comes along something a little different, a little creative, a little, shall we say, special.  This was one of those nows and thens.

The exceptional DIVAS I LOVE... band was Jeff Potter on Drums, John Loehrke on Bass, and Mark Hartman musical directing from the Piano.

Find great shows to see on the Birdland website HERE.

Visit the Bill Russell website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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