- OTHER MEDIA
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- Hardly Breathing by Deborah Wade
- SF Bay Guardian April 23, 2008 (Robert Avila)
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- The EXIT Theatre's seventh annual showcase of female artistic prowess,
DIVAfest, is underway. Among much else, that means another run of Diva
Cabaret, the late-night staging of song and sass hosted by rule-bender
and honorary diva Sean Owens (Girlesque, Odd By Nature). Featuring
a repertoire of songs by composer and accompanist Don Seaver (Owens's longtime
collaborator) with lyrics by Owens, performer Mia Paschal, and Diane Valory,
this enjoyably lounge-y evening takes its cue from the smart, playful material
and smoothly casual performances of seven chanteuses (all veterans of DIVAfests
past) and the off-the-cuff drollery of a cuffless Owens (wrapped in a luxurious
gown of cherry-blossom pink satin designed by Kathryn Wood). Revisiting
material from past shows, the songs combine humor, grit, and a variety
of musical moods. From Girlesque's "This Town Could Use Me"
("about a tranny hooker with a heart of gold," in Owens's succinct
summation) to the sultry bossa nova of "Kiss Me As If" and the
soulful rocker "Liberation" (which shrewdly imagines a duet between
Angela Davis and Patty Hearst), there's a little something here for everyone.
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