Review: CASSIE COMPTON, The Crazy Coqs, November 20 2015

The Crazy Coqs Room is ideal for cabaret. Seating sixty or so, table service allows you to relax (until you get the bill - ha!), enjoy a cocktail or two and ease into the weekend. I might quibble about the need for microphones on stage, but the amplification does not overpower the space and accompanies the tinkling of ice in glasses rather well.

Cassie Compton's show is billed as a tribute to some of the great women singers and songwriters, and she sets the bar high early on with Carole King's "It might as well rain until September" and (to nobody's surprise) "I will always love you". When someone takes on the Dolly Parton classic, it's always a bit of a deal breaker for me, much preferring Dolly's 1974 interpretation (a statement of regret) than Whitney Houston's 1991 divaish power ballad that pleases the crowd but jars on those who grew up with Dolly's sadness. Cassie went for somewhere between the two approaches - Dolly on the verses and Whitney on the chorus. Something for everyone, I suppose.

Cassie's background is in musical theatre, which she mined for some of her stories and drew on for a couple of guest spots from pals, but she didn't go there for songs, citing over-familiarity with the material and an amusing drying during a casting call. Naturally (given my background as a theatre reviewer) I found that a touch disappointing, but others may feel the same way as Cassie has a great musical theatre voice and plenty of blockbuster shows on her CV. Perhaps that back catalogue would lead to tighter links between the songs, as cabaret does require an anecdote or two to oil the connection between performer and audience and some in this show were a little haphazard, if disarmingly charming.

Soon bypassing Dusty, Ella and Barbra, we were on to Amy and Miley, whose material, shorn of the hullabaloo that surrounds those performers, stood up very well being sung with real respect and affection. And, all too soon it seemed (though the clock said otherwise), it was time for Adele's Skyfall and warm applause from a happy house.

This is a pleasant show that feels more like a song set than a cabaret. If Cassie chooses to go for a cabaret approach in rooms full of its unique atmosphere (and she has the stage presence to do so), I'd like to see a stronger narrative strand linking the songs and more on what each one means to singer and audience. Ally those details to Cassie's rich chocolatey vocals and the show will reach its considerable potential.

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