Rachel Tucker appeared in concert at the St James Theatre, London
Rachel Tucker performed in concert at the St James Theatre, London.
When launching her new album The Reason in July this year, Rachel Tucker played St James Studio. This time she was promoted to the main house and sold out. The evening also marked the opening of the London Festival of Cabaret and Tucker, along with Leigh Zimmerman and Domenick Allen (who were playing downstairs), helped kick the proceedings off to a great start.
Let me say from the outset, this was a great show and both I and the largely youthful audience enjoyed it immensely. It was a little confusing, however, that it was billed as a cabaret and programmed in the Festival, because it was really a concert of pop songs and musical theatre material with a six-piece band and two backing singers, Jennifer Tierney and Stevie Tate-Bauer. A very good concert, but not the intimate experience I was expecting from the billing.
This point aside, it was an exciting experience to see Tucker perform work she is less well-known for, having become so successful as a musical theatre performer. She covered a wide range of styles from the Andrews Sisters to the Beatles to Barbra Streisand, as well as some great showstoppers from musicals she has either been in or just happens to love.
There were times when the connection between one very different style of song and another might have been a little clearer, but the variety and pace of the show never wavered and the quality of Tucker’s singing, movement and use of space kept us entranced. Of all the artists to cover ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked, in which Tucker played Elphaba to great acclaim, she arguably is best at making the narrative work as a standalone number. Also, the arrangement, with the key change at the end, helped bring it to a rousing finish, guaranteed to bring the audience to their feet.
She had an easy rapport with the audience and her band (led by MD Liam Holmes and including fine trumpeter James Lawrence), which all helped to create a homely atmosphere and enabled us to feel we were getting to know her. She handled an unfortunate audience member having a coughing fit with particular humour and grace.
Enjoyable though the first half of the show was, it was the second half that was the more effective with its consistent style and fewer changes of genre. The territory was, therefore, clearer. After a big opening with ‘One Night Only’ and a beautifully yearning version of Queen’s ‘No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)’, which she sang in the West End show We Will Rock You, she presented a fun and wonderful medley of Tina Turner songs with all the commitment and rough-hewn aggression required. Few artists would dare to take on this material, being so famed and distinctive, but Tucker thrilled in it.
She also received great appreciation for her unique renditions of Sondheim’s ‘Being Alive’ and surprised us with guest artists, Wicked colleague Louise Dearman, currently playing Elphaba, and her entertainer father Tommy Tucker Kelly. In particular, I liked what she did with ‘Small Bump’, which features on the album.
I greatly look forward to seeing how motherhood (Tucker gave birth to a baby boy this year) and further years of solo performance mature her as an artist. Right now, she makes full use of her enormous voice and renowned belt quality. I would enjoy seeing her make the leap of faith and attempt the intimate cabaret I had been expecting, with just a piano for accompaniment. Her storytelling instincts are powerful and engaging, as was especially evidenced by ‘Stars and the Moon’, and her voice in the quieter songs is pure and moving. For me, one of the best moments in the show was when she sat on the edge of the stage to sing ‘Moon River’ and ‘Smile’, and refrained from belting altogether. It would be a brave transition for her to construct a whole evening in this genre, but I sense it could be delightful.
Whatever she chooses – musical theatre, pop and rock or sophisticated cabaret – she will undoubtedly entertain and dazzle.
Fiona-Jane Weston
www.londonfestivalofcabaret.com
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