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DIVA TALK: Catching Up With Karen Akers Plus News of Eder, Neuwirth and Baranski
By Andrew Gans
20 Apr 2007
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Karen Akers is back at the Algonquin
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News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.
KAREN AKERS
Gypsy fans are in for a treat these next few months. Not only is Patti LuPone bringing her Mama Rose to City Center for a limited engagement of the classic musical July 9-29, but Karen Akers is currently offering a healthy dose of Gypsy tunes in her newest cabaret act, Simply Styne.
Akers, who is playing the intimate Oak Room of Manhattan's Algonquin Hotel through May 12, recently told me, "The medley we're doing from Gypsy is so different in [musical director] Don [Rebic] and [director] Eric [Michael Gillett]'s hands and mine. It's so different from anything that has been done with this material before I think." That medley includes "Some People," "You Gotta Get a Gimmick" and "Let Me Entertain You."
It seems highly appropriate that Akers, whose dark, lush alto has been a staple of the Manhattan cabaret scene for over two decades, should include "Let Me Entertain You" in her current act, which she says her director describes as "an attempt to look at celebrity and performance. It's a question of 'How do we hold on to our art? How do we practice our art and have a personal life at the same time?'"
Those questions are ones that strike the acclaimed singing actress profoundly, as her husband is based in France while most of Akers' career takes place in the United States. "It's interesting," the Tony-nominated star of Nine explains, "because the show sort of takes me to a crossroads where, ideally, I would be strong enough to go in either direction, so to speak, when I get to the crossroads, [but] frankly, I'm going to try and stay at the crossroads as long as I can."
Wherever those roads lead, however, Akers' legion of fans are simply content that she's now back in Manhattan, where she triumphed last season with First You Dream: The Songs of Kander & Ebb, her first show devoted to the work of a single songwriting team. "I really loved [performing that show]," Akers says, "and I made so many wonderful discoveries, not least of which is that Kander and Ebb are sort of the unsung heroes of musical theatre. I just had never imagined that they would provide me such a canvas in their music and their words. It was so much fun. And, as I told audiences later in the run," she adds with a laugh, "I had finally discovered the value of a happy song. I really had a wonderful time doing their material."
Akers is equally excited about her all-Styne program. "To be honest," she says, "I think this show is going to top [the Kander and Ebb show]. I'm so excited, and this is the first time that I've worked with [Eric Michael Gillett]. I can't imagine a better director. He's just fantastic. It helps that he is also, himself, a wonderful actor." In fact, Akers says that Gillett has her digging deeper into her material than ever before. "I thought I'd come to some understanding a couple of years ago, [when] I said to people, 'This show's really hard, and I have to focus like a laser beam.' And it felt that way at the time, but this time I think, 'Oh, man. I didn't know what I was talking about!' Now I understand what it means to really have to focus, to really have to concentrate, and to simply be — and the difference between 'being' and 'performing.'"
When asked how she sorted through Styne's immense catalog of tunes, Akers replies, "Well, I had a book. And Don and I had looked at some things, but then Eric's suggestions started pouring in. I fought for certain things, but he wanted to shape the show in a particular way. So, I didn't get all my wish list, but I did get what I felt were the most important things. He had songs that I wouldn't have gone near in a million years! Particularly, for example, some of the Gypsy things — I wouldn't have touched them. . . . There's [also] a lot of uptempo stuff in the show and a lot of fun things and some wonderful monologues that Eric and I wrote together that are truly fun. There's no extraneous sort of chatter. Any talking, any patter, happens within the songs. It's a very different approach. . . . It feels so right, and that's how I know that this has gotta be good."
Among the songs that did make it into the show, those that Akers will bring to full life, are a potent mix of well-known tunes ("Just in Time," "Time After Time," "The Music That Makes Me Dance," "Long Before I Knew You," "I'll Walk Alone," "The Party's Over," "Make Someone Happy, "People") and interesting rarities ("Fireworks," "You Are Woman, I Am Man," "Ten Thousand Four Hundred and Thirty Two Sheep," "Killing Time," "Absent Minded Me" and "Winter Was Warm").
While assembling her new show, Akers also had the chance to visit with cabaret veteran Margaret Whiting, who is currently recovering from some recent health problems. "Margaret was always impressed by [Styne's] utter flexibility," Akers says, "'What, you don't like this? Okay, give me 15 minutes, and you'll have a brand-new song.' . . . She's so eager to come and see the new show. She loves Don very much, and she's loved me for years. She said, 'You know, I always said if she could just . . .' And, she couldn't seem to find the words because she didn't want to insult me. And I said, 'You mean, loosen up and not take herself so seriously?' And she laughed and said, 'Yes.'" Continued...
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