Songs for Nobodies

This is a beautifully performed and directed production that showcases the acting and singing talents of five multi-talented local actors.

The play tells the story of five famous female singers as told by five ‘ordinary’ people who had the privilege to meet them in their prime. One by one the actors tell their individual stories as well as singing some of the more well-known songs by the famous performers.

Mara Turner, playing a New York powder-room attendant, tells of her meeting with the legendary Judy Garland. Kathy Carruthers, playing a theatre usher, meets the great Patsy Cline. Alice Bredhauer, in the role of a rookie reporter, interviews the incredible Billie Holiday. Cath Willacy, playing a librarian, tells of her father’s wartime encounter with the brilliant but controversial Edith Piaf. And finally, Patrice Hogan, playing a waitress on a yacht, gets close up and personal with the diva of divas, Maria Callas.

The actors performed on a set oozing with the ambiance of a cosy night club as they were accompanied on keyboards by musical director Lizanne Smith.

The pick of the songs were Mara Turner’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow”, Kathy Carruthers singing “Amazing Grace” (written by John Newton, a slave trader) and Alice Breadhauer’s rendition of “Strange Fruit”, a song based on the hanging of two black men in Indiana.

For this reviewer, the most moving performance was Alice Bredhauer’s tale of Billie Holiday; a woman at the forefront of Black Lives Matter and one hell of a brave individual.

This was an excellent production that was well written, directed and performed.

Ken Cotterill