Review: DEVEN GREEN AND HANDSOME NED at CVRep

Canadian chanteuse Deven Green isn’t a household name, but her YouTube personality Mrs. Betty Bowers “America’s Best Christian” is lovingly well-known by her myriad of loyal fans.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Betty Bowers was locked away praying for the heathens, and, instead, a speakeasy-style concert was presented. It was publicized as a Cabaret, but there was no story through-line and represented nothing more than a directionless hodgepodge.  Her Anglican musical partner in crime was tall, lanky, “Handsome” Ned. Deven and Ned looked like they needed a good meal or six. Several jokes about their weight were fitting and proved that Canadians and Brits have a much higher metabolism.  

The musicianship between the two of them was pretty damn good; complete with ukulele, guitar, banjo, kazoo, and the Theremin. Simple, but nicely executed two-part harmony. They had several audience participation moments in the show; including the audience member they picked to pointlessly count down the 23 songs performed.

The classic material was worthy of dusting off and introducing to the Coachella Valley audience.  The steamy 1931 Bessie Smith, double entendre, “I Need Some Sugar In My Bowl”. Irvine Berlin’s 1929 “Puttin’ On The Ritz”. A clever mash-up of the 1941 “Why Don’t You Do Right” and 1979 Rockabilly hit “Stray Cats”. The 1938 Ella Fitzgerald’s Blues Anthem “When I Get Low I Get High”.  

There was an impressive international flavor peppered throughout the show. Deven was able to show off singing these great tunes in Canadian French, Italian, and Spanish: The 1976 ABBA mega-hit “Fernando”, Dean Martin’s 1959 “An Evening In Roma”,  1961 Roy Orbison hit “Crying”,  1954 Rosemary Clooney novelty, “Mambo Italiano”. 1962 Italian pop song "Quando, Quando, Quando", and the 1966 Nancy Sinatra Gold record hit “These Boots Are Made For Walking”, according to the duo Nancy Sinatra herself called their rendition, “Amazing”.

The duo was pure entertainment and her fans were eating it up. A few comedy songs gave us hints of her wit and ability (We really missed Mrs. Betty Bowers) with original novelty songs: “Canada”, “The Queen’s English”, and their clever long-lasting ear-worm encore, “Palm Springs”.  

A uniquely impressive moment came when Deven played the Theremin for a gorgeous rendition of the 1961 “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”. What is the Theremin?  Originally known as the Thereminophone it is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer. Placing a hand between two antennas and breaking the frequency to make a hauntingly eerie vibrational tone. Higher notes can be played by moving the left hand closer to the pitch antenna. Louder notes are played by moving the right hand away from the volume antenna.

With a Cabaret act you want to learn more about the people performing, than when you first sat down.  Sadly, this was not the case for Deven and Handsome Ned.  Entertaining? Yes! An eclectic mix of material?  Very much so!  Was any new information, or knowledge, obtained about the entertainers? Well... we did learn about the off-putting hot dogs and pasta dinner debacle.  And, of course, the hazard of putting an ice cream birthday cake in the refrigerator; complete with PowerPoint slides. As much work as they put into their interesting song list, it would behoove them to strengthen and fill out their lackluster onstage patter.

Grand performances, great music, and personality plus make the COACHELLA VALLEY REPERTORY 2024 SUMMER CABARET SERIES among the very best ways to enjoy Downtown Cathedral City. CVRep had scheduled 17 memorable evenings of award-winning talent, vivacious personalities, music and song, levity, and stories that are just waiting to be shared. This year’s Summer Cabaret Series continues to run through July 25, and has been expanded to include two shows every week!

Showtime is at 7PM. Tickets are $50 and on sale now. They may be ordered online at www.cvrep.org, by calling (760) 296-2966, ext. 201, or at the CVRep box office located at 68510 East Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City. Special custom ticket packages are available. The box office is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and one hour prior to performances. In order to better serve audiences, patrons requesting accessibility assistance are encouraged to contact the box office at least 24 hours prior to their ticketed performance. Artists, show titles and dates are subject to change.

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