MIKE JEKNAVORIAN Local Interviews

LADY FANCY

As she and her merry band of gospel singers are about to debut their long-running gospel show at The Pub, Lady Fancy discusses her tireless work ethic, including working right up to the lunch of her own funeral

Where did you grow up?  In Indiana.  How long have you lived in South Florida?  For 17 years.  Why did you move here?  For the weather, but mostly because South Florida is such a gay-friendly place.  What part of South Florida do you live in?  In Oakland Park.  What do you like most about living here?  The winters.  If you’ve ever lived in Indiana, you could relate (laughs).  What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone, and why?  Costello’s (it was called the Gin Mill when we first moved here).  It was small, nice and we made a lot of friends there.  Where do you hang out in South Florida?  We’re pretty much home bodies now, but it looks like I’ll be hanging out at The Pub a lot more often.

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The Happy Goodman Family, is a Southern gospel group that was founded in the 1940s by Howard “Happy” Goodman and performed together for several decades.  The Happy Goodmans achieved significant popularity in the 1960s.  In 1968, they won the first Grammy Award to be awarded for a gospel album by a gospel group.

What’s your claim-to-fame?  I guess that would have to be The Gospel Jubilee Show.  How did you come up with your name?  I was given that name because of Nancy Ross.  We were getting ready to do our first show, and I didn’t have a name yet.  So someone said, “Nancy and Fancy,” but I don’t remember who stuck the “Lady” part in front of it.  What was your first gig, ever?  It was in Bob (Nancy Ross) and Paul’s back yard.  What was your first gig in South Florida?  It was at Monkey Business Bar.  What’s the strangest thing that’s happened to you onstage?  I took one step too far to the right once, and I fell of the stage.  Talk about humbling.

If you could only do one anymore—play the piano or MC—which would you choose, and why?  That would have to be, play the piano.  It’s always been my favorite thing to do.  Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now?  I don’t have an “old job.”  I’ve been a hairdresser since I was 17.  It’s been a long time (laughs).  Will you ever retire?  My standard answer to that is that I’ll be working up until the lunch of my funeral.  What celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Liza Minnelli.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited, and why?  New York City, because Ron and I got married there.  It’s just a wonderful, exciting and magical place.

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What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  To forgive and forget.  Life is too short to hang on to so much stuff that is over and done with.  What’s your best characteristic?  My sense of humor.  At least I think so, but I may be the only one.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  With my husband and our dogs.  What celebrity do you have a crush on?  There are too many to name.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be, and why?  I’d bring back my best friend, Denise.  She was a drag queen trapped in a woman’s body.  We could finish each other’s sentences.  Where would you go in a time machine, and why?  I’d go to the 1940s because of the music, the clothes and the cars.

What would your last meal be?  That’s easy—pizza!  What do you worry about?  Being left alone after you’ve lost a partner.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why?  The piano, just because it’s my favorite.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A sheep.  Who are you closest with?  Ron, my husband.  What would your autobiography be called?  Oh What a Journey.  What music do you listen to when you’re upset?  Gospel music.  What’s on your bucket list?  To have my face pulled back up to where it used to be (laughs).  What’s something that you never told anyone else?  Well I certainly can’t tell it now in this interview (laughs).  Where can we see you?  At The Pub!

 

 

MIKE JEKNAVORIAN Local Events

AUDRA MCDONALD

Six-time Tony-winner Audra McDonald displayed her vocal abilities and charm in Fort Lauderdale last Wednesday

SHADE-O-METER RATING

5 OUTTA 5 WERKS: “10s ACROSS THE BOARD – LEGENDARY STATUS”

Who’s Audra McDonald?  She’s an actress and a singer.  At six Tony Awards, she’s won more of them than anyone other performer, and she’s the only performer to have won in all four acting categories.  What’s the Au-Rene Theater?  It’s the main theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.  It holds about 2,600 people, and it has three levels.  How was the venue?  Elegant.  How was the parking?  They have valet, or you can park in the garage for $12.  The garage is about a block away.

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Sing Happy features many songs that are either new to McDonald’s repertoire, or have never before been recorded by her, such as “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles, “Vanilla Ice Cream” from She Loves Me, and “Children Will Listen” from Into The Woods.  The CD also offers a sneak peek at the repertoire she’s performing on her North American concert tour.

Does the venue serve liquor?  Yes, and there are multiple bars (guess they must want people drunk).  We got one double chardonnay for $19.  How were the drinks?  There was nothing special about it.  Does the venue serve food?  They have some snacks.  How was the food?  We didn’t get any.  Where were the seats?  At the back of the orchestra.  Was the show sold out?  It was about two-thirds full.  Was there an opening act?  No.

How was the concert?  A representative from the venue gave a short speech about upcoming shows, and then the concert began when a trio of musicians (a pianist, a drummer, and a bassist) came out, followed by McDonald a moment later.  McDonald walked onto the stage without fan fair, and then immediately launching into her first number, “When Did I Fall in Love,” from Fiorello!.  As this was a rescheduled concert from March, one of the first things that McDonald said when she spoke was to apologize for the delay, explaining how she loves her kids, but she doesn’t love their germs.  “You wouldn’t have wanted to hear me then, because I would have sounded like Bea Arthur.  But that’s not a criticism of Bea Arthur, because I love her.”  For those who were not familiar with McDonald’s personality, and, in direct contract to the loftiness of her voice, she had a surprisingly homespun charm about her.  She also joked and laughed about how her recent concert in Los Angeles was rainy, and how “the clouds have followed her” to Fort Lauderdale.  But enough talk about her personality; let’s get into the music.  It would be a mistake to interpret McDonald’s undramatic entrance as symbolic of a concert where the audience heard something that was anything less than extraordinary.  The concert was primarily composed of musical theater standards such as “Summertime,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”  McDonald also showcased new composers with Jason Robert Brown’s “Stars and the Moon,” amusingly prefaced with, “I think that we need to nurture new composers so that I still have a job.”  As McDonald would appear to be the vocal heir-apparent to Barbara Cook, it was no surprise that Cook’s legacy figured prominently in the concert: “She was my mentor.  I learned so much watching and performing with her.”  McDonald sung several numbers that Cook was known for, including the difficult, “Vanilla Ice Cream” (and if there were one number that got the loudest applause, this was it).  It was also obvious that McDonald inherited Cook’s humbleness and wit with the anecdote, “Kids, they keep you grounded.  When I called my oldest daughter after The Sound of Music Live! to see what she thought of it, she responded, ‘Mommy, where are the dryer sheets?’  So that was my review.”  But what also makes McDonald so great is her vocal versatility, and she showed off her talent in jazz with “Cornet Man” from Funny Girl.  And in the vein of that tradition of jazz and big bands, the encore for the evening was not a soprano classic but “Over The Rainbow,” which she dedicated to “Miss Judy Garland.”

How was the crowd?  Mostly middle-aged.  What could have improved the concert?  Given that most middle-aged people are not as enthusiastic as, lets say, a pack of teenage Shawn Mendes fans, the concert would have probably been more exciting if it was sold out and in a smaller venue.  Regarding the venue, it has too many ushers—they’re mulling about all over the place.  For, example, when I went to use the restroom halfway through the show (there was no intermission), I was faced with a line of about 20 seated ushers, and they all turned their heads towards me in unison, a la the The Stepford Wives, to see what I was up to.  My only critique about McDonald herself is that I would have liked to of heard at least one number from Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.  Given her notoriety in the show, It was a bit disappointed that she didn’t do any numbers from it.  But a review can’t be based on what was omitted but what was presented.  And in that regard, McDonald’s voice sparkled to such a degree that she really is second-to-none.

What was surprising about the show?  It was hysterical and slightly shocking to hear McDonald cover the Kate Miller-Heidke song, “Are You Fucking Kidding Me? (The Facebook Song).”  When McDonald operatically enunciate the lyrics, “And so you want to be my friend on Facebook?  Oh you fucking, fucking fuck.  Click, ignore,” one knew that he or she wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 S.W. 5thAve., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.