Suspiciously Statuesque
Suspiciously Statuesque
Starring DiDi Panache
Written by Douglas McGeoch
Directed by Dewey Chaffee
Beth Marshall Presents
At the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, Orlando FL</strong>
In the beginning we had Lynnwood Sassy. He got his butt kicked on some obscure copyright charge and became Wayburn Sassy, assisted by the taller than average DiDi Panache. Panache strikes out solo tonight, fronting one of the bitterest cabaret shows I’ve seen. Her mentor and sugar daddy Wayburn molders in an Orlando international Airport Holding cell but offers advice as best he can as she sings anti-love songs like “Don Juan Your Money is Gone”, “Old Devil Moon”, and “There’s More to Me.” Panache schmooze’s an audience largely composed of her regular fans and builds a story about her wobbly relation with Sassy (Chaffee). I have to say that Chafee only phones in his performance, but at least his voice is clear as he berates her choice of dress, timing and music. The humor sounds rough but underneath there’s love and Panache belts with the best, even if she spends most of her time as a tenor. Tonight was a fund raiser; Panache and her companion are heading out on an ambitious tour of festivals across North America and Western Europe. An hour flies by quickly, Wayburn is still safely locked away, and she wraps up with “Anything Can Happen” and comes back to thunderous applause for “I Am What I Am.” That, she is.
More information on Beth Marshall Presents may be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/BETH-MARSHALL-PRESENTS/67831046101?v=info</a</em>>
