BWW Reviews: Sterling's Serves Up Sex, Love & Whine Plus the Unexpected

On Sunday March 14 Tamra Lamese Dozier, Dana Shaw, Sheila Ferrari and Melissa Smilow  presented their show Sex, Love & Whine @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to a packed house, but half hour to curtain... all was not in their favor. During dinner, the lights went off on the entire block of Tujunga Ave, forcing guests at Vitello's to eat and chat by candlelight and putting the impending 7:00pm show at risk. What to do when mics are electric too? Not to be seen or heard; whether 'tis nobler to perform... that is the question! At 6:50 Michael Sterling took the stage and addressed the anxious crowd explaining the situation that there was no backup generator in the building and that the DWP had given no word as to when power would be returned...but, that the four ladies wanted the show to go forward and would present their show, accompanied by their combo orchestra onstage... all with the limited lighting of candles...and at half price for patrons, Sterling encouraged them to return to see an uninterrupted show, that would be rescheduled at a later date. The audience cheered and ON WITH THE SHOW!

Hardly an easy task, as some voices do not carry well unplugged or unmiked, the four did an admirable job ... and then 20 minutes into the set...lo and behold on came flickering lights and moments later full power was restored - to the delight of everyone. Hand held mics were rushed to the stage and the gals proceeded with a terrific show. Highlights included "I'm a Woman", "Natural Woman", "Walking on Sunshine", "There's a Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q, "Maybe This Time" and a variety of other theatre/pop tunes. Dozier is a powerhouse performer with an amazingly powerful voice (she could easily play Effie in Dreamgirls!) that could be heard far and wide with or sans mic. Her best moments were with "Natural Woman", "Son of a Preacher Man" and "I Who Have Nothing" made so incredibly famous by Shirley Bassey in the 70s. Dozier's interp more than equalled Bassey's and she brought down the house. Shaw's finest hour was singing "Chain of Fools", Ferrari's with "Where Is Your Heart" and Smilow's with "Fever".

The premise of the title concerns good men: how to find them, keep them and stay happy. The ladies whined and bantered consistently about the joy of sex, lost love, no love and the fact that, through it all, they still have each other. It's a cute concept that worked as well as it could under these stressful circumstances. No one's to blame, but it was hard to hear some of the dialogue during the first 20 minutes. Ah, the unpredictability of theatre and cabaret! Brava to the gals and bravo to Sterling and his staff who did a Class A job of pleasing everyone throughout.

I hope the fabulous Dozier and her talented troupe return soon and perform once again from the top.

(photos, zigzagging from top to bottom, left to right, left to right: Sheila Ferrari, Dana Shaw, Tamra Lamese Dozier, Melissa Smilow)

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