Turner’s Turn

Anyone who starts their cabaret act with “Rose’s Turn” has got guts, and Geraldine Turner certainly has plenty of that. The iconic song from Gypsy, immortalised by Ethel Merman as Mama Rose, is every diva’s dream role, and whilst Turner missed out on playing it three times, she was born to put her stamp on the part as she proved last night.

A big performer, with a big voice, and a lot of heart, she gave her all last night as she strutted around the postage-stamp-sized stage delivering a show with a little bit of Sondheim, a little bit of Brel, and a lot of show-business savvy. She was incandescent! She was also warm, real and honest peppering the act with funny theatrical anecdotes and singing material from her vast repertoire. If we needed reminding, a mid-show medley which included songs from Chicago, Into the Woods, Call Me Madam, A Little Night Music, Anything Goes and others proved the point. “If He Walked Into My Life” (Mame), “Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music), and the obscure “Why Him?” (Carmelina), were all winners, but it was Ne me quitte pas (“If You Go Away”) that was the icing on this chocolate box of goodies. Her turn as Norma Desmond, which coupled Boulevard’s “Those Wonderful People (Out there in the dark)” with Sunset Boulevard’s “As If We Never Said Goodbye” had pathos and was particularly moving. Likewise her “Alone in the Spotlight” from Tim Minchin’s Somewhere. Sondheim and Mary Rodgers’ witty, “The Boy From…” (The Mad Show) never fails to get laughs, and in Turner’s hands they were maximised.

Classy piano accompaniment came from Brad Miller who brought some showy and expressive fingerwork to the set. It was Turner’s first cabaret performance in her home-town for ten years. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long for a Turner’s Turn reprise.

Peter Pinne   

Photographer: Kurt Sneddon